National Endowment for the Arts
NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS
The National Endowment for the Arts is the largest
annual hinder of the arts in the United States. An
independent federal agency, the NEA is the official
arts organization of the United States government,
dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both
new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans;
and providing leadership in arts education.
National Endowment for the Arts
America's Highest Honor in Jazz
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries
http://archive.org/details/neajazzmastersamOOnati
A Message from the Chairman
Since its creation in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts
has worked to further one of the country's greatest artistic
inventions — jazz. The Arts Endowment's first grant in the jazz
field went to George Russell (who became an NEA Jazz Master in
1990), one of the great jazz composers and theorists who helped to further jazz not only
musically but academically. Since that first grant, funding has exploded from an annual
budget of $20,000 in 1970 to more than $2.8 million in 2005.
Our premier program in jazz is the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships. In 1982, the NEA
created this lifetime achievement award to recognize and reward jazz musicians who
have had a major impact on the art form. Since then, 87 of jazz's greatest living artists
have been honored as NEA Jazz Masters and during this time, the award has come to be
regarded as the nation's highest honor in jazz.
To further expand the audiences for jazz, the Arts Endowment expanded the NEA
Jazz Masters initiative to include three significant new components: NEA Jazz Masters
on Tour, which brings awardees to various venues throughout all 50 states; NEA Jazz in
the Schools, a curriculum for high school students that explores jazz as an art form and
way to understand American history, developed in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln
Center and with support from the Verizon Foundation; and a broadcasting program to
provide greater public access to this great American art form on both television and radio.
The National Endowment for the Arts believes these musicians and this music
deserve the greatest possible recognition. The musicians who have won this award have
not only shared then art with U.S. audiences, but have spread this intrinsically American
music all over the world. Jazz may well be considered America's most influential and
distinguished musical export, and these NEA Jazz Masters are the eminent ambassadors
who promote and practice this vibrant and vital part of our nation's cultural heritage.
QUAfc H^^
Dana Gioia
Chairman
National Endowment for the Arts
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
A Brief History of the Program 3
Program Overview 5
2006 NEA Jazz Masters 7
NEA Jazz Masters 1982-2005 (Year Fellowship Awarded)
David Baker (2000) 16
Danny Barker (1991) 17
Count Basie (1983) 18
Louie Bellson( 1994) 19
Art Blakey( 1988) 20
Cleo Brown (1987) 21
Ray Brown (1995) 22
Dave Brubeck (1999) 23
Kenny Burrell (2005) 24
Donald Byrd (2000) 25
Benny Carter (1986) 26
Betty Carter (1992) 27
Ron Carter (1998) 28
Kenny Clarke (1983) 29
Buck Clayton (1991) 30
Ornette Coleman (1984) 31
Miles Davis (1984) 32
Dorothy Donegan (1992) 33
Paquito D'Rivera (2005) 34
Sweets Edison (1992) 35
Roy Eldridge (1982) 36
Gil Evans (1985) 37
Art Farmer (1999) 38
Ella Fitzgerald (1985) 39
Tommy Flanagan (1996) 40
Frank Foster (2002) 41
Dizzy Gillespie (1982) 42
Benny Golson (1996) 43
Dexter Gordon (1986) 44
Jim Hall (2004) 45
Chico Hamilton (2004) 46
Lionel Hampton (1988) 47
Slide Hampton (2005) 48
I ferbie l lancock (2004) 49
NEA Jazz Masters
Barry Harris (1989) 50
Roy Haynes (1995) 51
Jimmy Heath (2003) 52
Percy Heath (2002) 53
Joe Henderson (1999) 54
Luther Henderson (2004) 55
Jon Hendricks (1993) 56
Nat Hentoff (2004) 57
Billy Higgins (1997) 58
Milt Hinton (1993) 59
Shirley Horn (2005) 60
Milt Jackson (1997) 61
Ahmad Jamal (1994) 62
J.J. Johnson (1996) 63
Elvin Jones (2003) 64
Hank Jones (1989) 65
Jo Jones (1985) 66
Andy Kirk (1991) 67
John Lewis (2001) 68
Abbey Lincoln (2003) 69
MelbaListon(1987) 70
Jackie McLean (2001) 71
Marian McPartland (2000) 72
Carmen McRae (1994) 73
Jay McShann (1987) 74
James Moody (1998) 75
Anita O'Day (1997) 76
Max Roach (1984) 77
Sonny Rollins (1983) 78
George Russell (1990) 79
Artie Shaw (2005) 80
Wayne Shorter (1998) 81
Horace Silver (1995) 82
Jimmy Smith (2005) 83
Sun Ra (1982) 84
Billy Taylor (1988) 85
Cecil Taylor (1990) 86
Clark Terry (1991) 87
McCoy Tyner (2002) 88
Sarah Vaughan (1989) 89
George Wein (2005) 90
Rand) Weston (20Q1) 91
Joe Williams (1993) 92
Gerald Wilson (1990) 93
Nancy Wilson (2004) 94
fedd) Wilson (1986) 95
NEA Jazz Masters by Year 97
ri N.
Introduction
THERE IS GENERAL AGREEMENT THAT THE
United States has produced three original art
forms: movies, modern dance, and jazz. All
speak to the genius of American culture. Film is
indicative of our ability to convert new technology
into a medium for mass consumption, frequently
achieving the status of high art. Modern dance,
an indigenous kinesthetic art capable of an
unbounded range of expression, from treatments
of contemporary issues to pure abstraction.
And then there is jazz.
Jazz lives at the very center of the American
vernacular. It is the gift of the generations of new
urban African American people whose capacity
for the synthesis of diverse strains of musical forms
brought schottisches, quadrilles, habaneras, and
marches into the bases of the blues and ragtime to
create a whole new way of making music. It was
built on the discipline of collective improvisation,
a remarkable skill when you think about it, which
allowed for maximum expression of the individual
within the context of the group. Jazz is democratic
and virtually without hierarchy: the composer is one
more collaborator in the group, and even bandleaders
do not stand above the soloists.
These qualities are entirely appropriate for what
is best about America. The old jazz principle that
"you've got to make it new" is so American that it
could go on the dollar bill. These defining qualities
have made jazz arguably the United States' most wel-
comed cultural export. It has taken root wherever it
has been planted, moving into and becoming a part
of the cultures of other countries and then becoming
an aspect of their national expression, in the way
that Russian jazz is vastly different from Afro-Cuban
jazz. Some years ago, just after apartheid had fallen,
I heard a young South African ensemble that com-
prised an Indian pianist, a tabla player, a white
female flutist, and a black bassist. Distinct traces of
each of these musicians' heritages were audible in
their solos, yet they performed with intimate ease.
I thought, how marvelous that, as these young peo-
ple are at a point in history when they can speak to
each other as equals, jazz provides the vocabulary.
It is no accident that jazz has been a favored
medium of cultural diplomacy. For decades, Willis
Conover's jazz series on the Voice of America kept
ears open to the United States Information Agency
(I JSIA) all over the world. Uncounted numbers
ol jazz musicians have traveled abroad under the
NEA Jazz Masters
auspices of the State Department. Many of the
National Endowmenl lor the Arts Jazz Masters, such
as Dizzy Gillespie, Randy Weston, and Billy Taylor,
ba\ e toured the globe as our cultural representatives.
The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships program was
created to say to jazz musicians that their govern-
ment values the way that they keep our culture rich
by continually producing such fabulous music.
Mastery is a difficult status to achieve. No creative
discipline has more than a few true masters, for it
takes exceptional talent, dedication, hard work, and
opportunitv to become one. NEA Jazz Masters
have demonstrated these qualities and more. The
National Endowment for the Arts is honored to
recognize these great artists for the outstanding
contributions thev have made to American culture.
A. B. Spellman
Poet and Author, Four Jazz Lives
Former Deputy Chairman for Guidelines & Panel Operations
National Endowment for the Arts
2 NKA -\.\jj. rVLifltera
NEA Jazz Masters Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach, 1956.
A Brief History of the Program
A MELDING OF AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN
music and cultures, jazz was born in
America, a new musical form that used
rhythm, improvisation, and instruments in unique
and exciting ways. Jazz came to prominence in the
early 20th century when recording techniques made
it possible for many more people to hear the music.
By the 1930s and 1940s, jazz had become America's
dance music, selling albums and performance tickets
at dizzying rates. But by the 1950s, with the advent
of rock and roll and the tilt in jazz toward bebop
rather than the more popular swing, jazz began a
decline in its popularity. It was still seen as an
important and exciting art form, but by an increas-
ingly smaller audience.
By the 1960s, when the National Endowment for
the Arts was created hy Congress, jazz album sales
were down and jazz performances were becoming
more difficult to find. The music, starting with bebop
and into hard hop and free jazz, became more cere-
bral and less dance-oriented, focusing on freeing up
improvisation and rhythm. It was moving to a new
artistic level, and if this high quality were to be
maintained, il would need some assistance.
NEA assistance to the jazz field began in 1969,
with its first grant in jazz awarded to pianist/
composer George Russell (who would later go on
to receive an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship in 1990).
In a decade, jazz funding went from $20,000 in 1970
to $1.5 million in 1980, supporting jazz festivals and
concert seasons, special projects and services to the
field, and fellowships for performance, composition,
and jazz study.
At the same time, the pioneers of the field were
rapidly aging, and often dying without the recogni-
tion of their contribution to this great American art
form. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, two of
the giants of jazz in terms of both musicianship and
composition, both died in the early 1970s without
the importance of their contributions being fully
acknowledged and appreciated.
The National Endowment for the Arts created a
new program in 1982 to recognize these artists for
their lifelong contributions to and mastery of jazz:
American Jazz Masters Fellowships (now called NEA
Jazz Masters). These would be awarded to musicians
who have reached an exceptionally high standard of
achievement in this very specialized art form. In
NEA Jazz Masters
addition to the recognition, the NEA initially
included a monetary award of $20,000 for each
fellowship. The rigors of making a living in the jazz
field are well documented. Jazz is an art form to
which the free market has not been kind. Despite
their unparalleled contributions to American art,
many of the jazz greats worked for years just barely
scraping by. For some, the monetary award provided
a much needed infusion of income.
Demonstrating just how necessary the program
was, Thelonious Sphere Monk — one of the great
American composers and musicians — was nominated
for a Jazz Master Fellowship in the first year of the
program, but unfortunately passed away before the
announcement was made. The three who were
chosen certainly lived up to the criteria of artistic
excellence and significance to the art form: Roy
Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sun Ra.
The panel in that first year included stellar
jazz musicians themselves, including some future
NEA Jazz Masters: trumpeter Donald Byrd and
saxophonists Frank Foster, Chico Freeman, Jackie
McLean, and Archie Shepp. In addition, Riverside
record company owner Orrin Keepnews was on
the panel.
From that auspicious beginning, the program has
continued to grow and provide increased awareness
of America's rich jazz heritage. The recipients of
NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships cover all aspects of
the music: from boogie-woogie (Cleo Brown) to
swing (Count Basie, Andy Kirk, Jay McShann); from
bebop (Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke) to Dixieland
(Danny Barker); from free jazz (Ornette Coleman,
Cecil Taylor) to cool jazz (Miles Davis, Gil Evans,
Ahmad Jamal); and everywhere in between. What
ties all these styles together is a foundation in the
blues, a reliance on group interplay, and unpredictable
improvisation. Throughout the years, and in all the
different styles, these musicians have demonstrated
the talent, creativity, and dedication that make them
NEA Jazz Masters.
4 NKA .hvy. Mjisters
National Endowment for the Arts
1991 American Jazz Masters Fellowship Awards
Buck Hill (sax) and NEA Jazz Master Clark Terry (flugelhorn) at the 1 991 Awards ceremony.
Program Overview
The National Endowment for the Arts recognizes
the importance of jazz as one of the great
American art forms of the 20th century. As
part of its efforts to honor those distinguished artists
whose excellence, impact, and significant contribution
in jazz have helped keep this important tradition and
art form alive, the Arts Endowment annually awards
NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, the highest honor
that our nation bestows upon jazz musicians. Each
fellowship award is $25,000.
The NEA Jazz Masters initiative has expanded
in recent years to include a two-CD anthology of
NEA Jazz Masters music by the Verve Music Group;
the 50-state NEA Jazz Masters on Tour program,
sponsored by Verizon, that includes community
events and signings held at local Borders stores
in connection with performances through a new
partnership with Borders Books & Music; radio
and television programming in partnership with
National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting
System; and NEA Jazz in the Schools, a new
curriculum for high school students, developed
in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center and
supported by the Verizon Foundation.
The selection criteria for the fellowships remain
the same: musical excellence and significance of
the nominees' contributions to the jazz art form.
The Arts Endowment will continue to honor a
range of styles, musical instruments, vocalists, and
composer/arrangers when making the awards, but
now awards fellowships by category: rhythm instru-
mentalist, solo instrumentalist, vocalist, keyboardist,
arranger/composer, and the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz
Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy, which will be
given to an individual who has made major contri-
butions to the appreciation, knowledge, and
advancement of jazz.
Fellowships are awarded to living artists on the
basis of nominations from the public, including the
jazz community. The recipients must be citizens
or permanent residents of the United States. An
individual may submit only one nomination each
year, and nominations are made by submitting a
one-page letter detailing the reasons that the nomi-
nated artist should receive an NEA Jazz Masters
Fellowship. Nominations remain active for five
years, being reviewed annually during this period.
More information on submitting a nomination
and all the components of the NEA Jazz Masters
initiative is available on the NEA Web site:
www.neajazzmasters.org.
NEA Jazz Masters
k
NEA Jazz Masters Ron
Carter, Tony Bennett, and
Wayne Shorter at a 1993
inauqural ball.
2006
RHYTHM INSTRUMENTALIST
Ray Barretto
)SER
M)l(> INSTRUMENTALIST
1ENTALIST
A B SPELLMAN NEA JAZZ
MASTERS AWARD FOR
: ADVOCACY
Bob Brookm
KEYBOARDIST
Chick Corea
Names in bold in biographies denote NEA Jazz Masters awardees.
All recordings listed in Selected Discography are under the artist's name unless otherwise noted.
Years listed under recordings in Selected Discography denote the years the recordings were made.
arretto
PERCUSSIONIST BANDLEADER
Born April 29. 1929 in Brooklyn. NY
The most widely recorded conguero in jazz, Ray
Barretto grew up listening to the music of Puerto Rico
and the swing bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie,
and Benny Goodman. Barretto credits Dizzy
Gillespie's recording of "Manteca," featuring
conguero Chano Pozo, with his decision to
become a professional musician.
I [e first sat in on jam sessions at the
( )i l.mdo. a GI jazz club in Munich. In
1949. after military service, he returned
to Harlem and taught himself to play
the drums, getting his first regular job
with Eddie Bonnemere's Latin Jazz
Combo. Barretto then played for four
years with Cuban bandleader/pianist
lose* Curbelo. In L957, he replaced
Mongo Santamaria in Tito Puente's band,
with which he Mi ended his first album.
Dance Mania. After four years with Puente, he
me "i the most sought-after percussionists in New
'lurk, attending jam sessions with artists including Max
Roai 1 1 lil.ikrv and recording with Sonnj Stitt. Lou
d ( iarland, Gene Amnions. Eddie "Lockjaw"
mbaH Adderley, Freddie Hubbard. CaJ Tjader,
larretto was so mu( h in demand that
^DDISCOG^
in 1960, he was a house musician for the Prestige, Blue
Note, and Riverside record labels.
Barretto's first job as a bandleader came in 1961. when
Riverside producer Orrin Keepnews asked him to form a
charanga for a recording, Pachanga With Barretto.
Charanga Moderna, "Tico, 1 962
Hard Hands. Fania, 1968
Rican/Strucuon. Fania, 1979
Ancestral Messages, Concord Picante, 1992
Homage to Art Blakey and the Jazz
Messengers. Sunnyside, 2002
His next album, Charanga Moderna. featured
"El Watusi," which became the first Latin
number to penetrate Billboard's Top-20
chart. In 1963, "El Watusi" went gold. In
1975 and 1976, Barretto earned back-to-
back Grammy nominations for his albums
Barretto (with the prize-winning hit
"Guarere") and Barretto Live... Tomorrow.
His 1979 album for Fania. Bican/Struction.
considered a classic of salsa, was named
Best Album (1980) by Latin N.Y. magazine,
and Barretto was named Conga Player of the
Year. He won a Grammy Award in 1990 for the
song "Ritmo en el Corazon" with Celia Cmz.
Ray Barretto was inducted into the International Latin
Music Hall of Fame in 1999. He was voted Jazz Percussionist
of 2004 by the Jazz Journalists Association and won the
Down Bent critics poll for percussion in 2005. His recording
7Ime Was, lime Is was nominated for a 2005 Grammv Award.
8 NEA A:\yy. Masters
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VOCALIST
emiett
Born August 3, 1926 in Queens, NY
Called "the best singer in the business" by Frank
Sinatra, Tony Bennett was born as Anthony Dominick
Benedetto in 1926 in the Astoria section of Queens,
New York. By age 10, he had attracted such notice that he
was tapped to sing at the opening ceremony for the
Triborough Bridge. He attended the High School of
Industrial Arts, worked as a singing waiter, and then per-
formed with military bands during his Army service in
World War II. After the war, he continued his vocal studies
formally at the American Theatre Wing school and infor-
mally in the 52nd Street jazz clubs. His break came in 1949,
when Bob Hope saw him working in a Greenwich Village
club with Pearl Bailey, invited him to join his show at the
Paramount, and changed his stage name to Tony Bennett.
Bennett's recording career began in 1950, when
he signed with the Columbia label, with the
number one hit "Because of You," followed
by his cover of Hank Williams's "Cold, Cold
Heart." With a string of hits to his credit,
Bennett was able to exert greater artistic
influence over his recordings, allowing
him to express his interest in jazz, notably
The Beat of My Heart, on which he was
accompanied primarily with jazz percus-
sionists, and In Person with Count Basie
and I lis Orchestra.
The Beat of My Heart, Columbia, 1 957
In Person with Count Basie and His
Orchestra, Columbia, 1958
The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album,
Column!? 1975
On Holiday: A Tribute to Billie Holiday,
Columbia, 1996
In 1962, Bennett recorded "I Left My Heart in San
Francisco," the song that would become his signature, and
for which he won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year
and Best Solo Male Vocal Performance. Over the next years,
while putting out singles and albums that were consistently
among the most popular in the country, he continued to
infuse his singing with the spontaneity of jazz and to record
and tour with bands composed almost exclusively of jazz
musicians.
In the 1970s, Bennett formed his own record company
and made albums including two duet recording with pianist
Bill Evans. His 1992 release, Perfectly Frank, a tribute to
Frank Sinatra, and 1993 Steppin' Out, a tribute to Fred
Astaire, went gold and won him back-to-back Grammy
Awards. Bennett received Grammy's highest
award, Album of the Year, in 1994 for his live
recording, MTV Unplugged, and was
honored with their Lifetime Achievement
Award in 2001. He continues to perform
to sold-out audiences throughout the
world, appearing with his stellar
jazz quartet.
Playin with my Friends: Bennett Sings
the Blues, Columbia, 2001
NEA Jazz Musters 9
Born December 19, 1929 in Kansas City, MO
eyer
TROMBONIST PIANIST
COMPOSER ARRANGER EDUCATOR
An innovative composer and gifted arranger for both
small and large ensembles, as well as an outstanding
performer on valve trombone and piano, Bob
Brookmeyer bas been making music for more than 50 years.
A professional performer with dance bands since the age of
14. be studied composition for three years at the Kansas City
( lonservatory of Music, where he won the Carl Busch Prize
for ( horal Composition. In the early 1950s, he traveled to
New York .is a pianisl witb Tex Benecke and Mel Lewis and
stayed on in freelance witb artists including Pee Wee
Russell, Ben Webster, and Coleman Hawkins.
After .i period witb Claude Tbornhill. Brookmeyer
joined Stan ( !etz in late 1952, an association that took him
to California, where ( lerrj Mulligan asked him to join bis
quartet. Brookmeyer gained renown as a member of that
'4r<ni|i (19 aid .is ,i member ol the experimental
limnu ( . i 1 1 1 f i < • 3 ( 1957-58), ( omprising Giuffre's ^<$£&i
lira II. ill guitar, and Brookmeyer's
trombone. I lis Inn- .issm iation with
Mulligan included work with the Com ert
[azz Band, which Brookmeyer helped in
form and maintain, and foi whi( h be
In ind Clark Terry
idart quintet, whii h
ikmeyei w.is also
: I trombonisl
1 lie |'h. id [ones-
4?
Gerry Mulligan Quartet, At Storyville,
Pacific Jazz. 1956
The Blues Hot aivtfold. Verve, 1960
Back Again. Sonet, 1978
Paris Suite. Challenge, 1993
Get Well Soon. Challenge, 2002
Mel Lewis Orchestra, formed in 1965. After a decade spent
in California as a studio musician, Brookmeyer returned to
New York in 1978 to play with Stan Getz and Jim Hall, form
his own quartet, and then in 1979 rejoined the Mel Lewis
Orchestra, becoming its musical director after the departure
of Thad Jones.
From 1981 to 1991. Brookmeyer was busy as a composer
and performer in Europe, working in both classical and jazz
idioms. He began teaching at the Manhattan School of
Music in 1985 and directed the BMJ Composers Workshop
from 1989 to 1991. He has served as musical director of the
Schlewsig-Holstein Musik Festival Big Band/New Art
Orchestra, the Stanley Knowles Distinguished Visiting
Professor at Brandon University in Manitoba, and director of
the New England Conservatory's Jazz Composers' Workshop
Orchestra. A composer whose work has been
widely published, studied, and performed.
•typ> Brookmeyer has received grants in composi-
tion from the National Endowment for Uie
Arts and nominations from NARAS for
composing and performing, and be was
commissioned by the 12 Cellists of the
Berlin Philharmonic to write a piece
for an EMI disc featuring trumpet
player Till Broenner. A new concert-
length piece for the New Art Orchestra
will be recorded in January 2006.
10 NEA.J.
KEYBOARDIST COMPOSER ARRANGER
Corea
Born June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, MA
<$
Now He Sobs. Now He Sings,
Blue Note, 1968
Return to Forever, ECM, 1972
Live in Montreux, Stretch, 1981
Eye of the Beholder, GPP, 1W8
Rendezvous in New York,
Stretch, 2001
A groundbreaking artist both as a
keyboardist (piano, electric
piano, synthesizer) and as a
composer-arranger, Chick Corea has
moved fluidly among jazz, fusion,
and classical music throughout
a four-decade career, winning
national and international honors
including 12 Grammy Awards.
He ranks with Herbie Hancock
and Keith Jarrett as one of the lead-
ing piano stylists to emerge after Bill
Evans and McCoy Tyner, and he has
composed such notable jazz standards as
"Spain," "La Fiesta," and "Windows."
Corea began playing piano and drums at an early age
and enjoyed a childhood home filled with the music of Bud
Powell, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lester Young, as
well as Mozart and Beethoven. From 1962 to 1966 he
gained experience playing with the bands of Mongo
Santamaria and Will if; Bobo, Blue Mitchell. I [erbie Mann,
and Stan Getz. He made his recording debut as a leader
with Tones For Joan's Bones (1966) and in 1968 recorded
the classic trio album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs with
Miroslav Vitoua and Roy Haynes. Following a short period
with Sarah Vaughan, Corea then joined Miles Davis' group,
gradually replacing Herbie Hancock. Davis persuaded Corea
to play electric piano on the influential albums Filles
$P ^^> de Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way. Bitches Brew, and
Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way,
Miles Davis at the Fillmore.
In 1971, Corea formed the ensemble Return
to Forever with Stanley Clarke on bass, Flora
Purim on vocals, her husband Airto Moreira
on drums, and foe Farrell on reeds. Within a
year, the samba-flavored group had become an
innovative, high-energy electric fusion band,
incorporating the firepower of drummer Lenny
White and guitarist Al DiMeola. Spearheaded
by Corea 's distinctive style on Moog synthesizer,
Return to Forever led the mid-1970s fusion move-
ment with albums such as Where Have I Known You
Bejbre, Bomantic Warrior, and the Grammy Award-win-
ning No Mysteiy. In 1985, Corea formed a now fusion
group, The Elektric Band, and a few years later he formed
The Akoustic Band. In 1992, he established his own record
label, Stretch Records.
On the occasion of his 60th birthday in 2001, Corea pul
together an unprecedented musical gathering al the Blue
Note Jazz Club in New York City. The three-week evenl
resulted in a double CD, Rendezvous in New York, and a
two-hour film of the same name. He continues to create
projects in multifaceted settings for listeners around
the world.
NEA Jazz Mastei-s 1 1
eFranco
CLARINETIST EDUCATOR
Born February 17, 1923 in Camden, NJ
A brilliant improviser and prodigious
ti 'clinician who has bridged the swing
and bebop eras. Buddy DeFranco
was born in Camden, New Jersey and
raised in South Philadelphia, and began
playing tbe clarinet at age nine. At 14,
he won a national Tommy Dorsey
Swing Contest and appeared on the
Saturday Niglit Swing Club with Gene
Krupa. Johnny "Scat" Davis soon
tapped him for his big band, inaugurating
DeFranco's road career in 1939. DeFranco
subsequently played in the bands of Gene
Krupa (1941] and Charlie Barnel (1942-43) and
in i'i44 hi'i ame a featured soloist with Tommy
l)nrs.-\. Meanwhile, the modern jazz revolution was in
led bj Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Excited
li\ the improvisatory freedom of their music, DeFranco
me the Brsl jazz i larinetisl to make his mark in the new
idiom ol bebi
In ' rani o joined the famous Count Basie Septet
with Billie Holidaj in 1954, led a quartet
\ii Blakey, Kenny Drew, and Eugene
I w ith TOmmj Gumina in a quartet
musii . further solidifying his repu-
I 111 i.m " His other notable concert
have included dates with Ari
irker, Dizzj Gillespie. Stan
Mr. Clarinet, Norgran, 1953
Cooking the Blues. Verve, 1955
Blues Bag. Affinity, 1964
Wart. Pablo/OJC, 1985
Do Nothing Jill You Hear From Us,
Concord Jazz. 1998
Getz. Lenny Tristano. Billy Eckstine, Barney
Kessel. Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Mel Torme.
Louie Bellson, Oscar Peterson, and the John
Pizzarelli Trio, as well as several
Metronome All-Star sessions. He was a
featured artist in numerous Jazz at the
Philharmonic tours of Europe, Australia,
and East Asia. In 1966. he became the
leader of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, a
post he maintained until 1974.
Since the mid-1970s. DeFranco has
combined a busy teaching career with
extensive touring and recording. His numer-
ous television performances have included
appearances on The Tonight Show with botJi Steve
Allen and Johnny Carson. He was a featured soloist on
Stars of Jazz: had his own program on public television.
77ie DeFranco Jazz Forum; and with his long-time musical
colleague, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, shared the spotlight on
a segment of the PBS series Club Date. DeFranco has played
at concerts and festivals throughout the United States,
Europe, Australia. New Zealand. South Africa. Brazil, and
Argentina. To date, he has recorded more than 160 albums,
has won the Down Beat All Stars award 20 times, and the
Metronome poll 12 times. The University of Montana.
Missoula, now hosts The Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival
eat h April.
12 NEA Jazz Mas
TRUMPETER
ubbard
Born April 7, 1938 in Indianapolis,
One of the greatest trumpet virtuosos ever to play in
the jazz idiom, and arguably one of the most influen-
tial, Freddie Hubbard played mellophone and then
trumpet in his school band and studied at the Jordan
Conservatory with the principal trumpeter of the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. As a teenager, he
worked with Wes and Monk Montgomery and eventually
founded his own band, the Jazz Contemporaries, with
bassist Larry Ridley and saxophonist James Spaulding.
After moving to New York in 1958, he quickly astonished
fans and critics alike with his depth and maturity, playing
with veteran artists Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide
Hampton, J.J. Johnson, Eric Dolphy, and Quincy Jones, with
whom he toured Europe. In June 1960, on the recommenda-
tion of Miles Davis, he recorded his first solo album, Open
Sesame, for Blue Note records, just weeks after his 22nd
birthday. Within the next 10 months, he recorded two more
albums, Goin' Up and Hub Cap, and then in August 1961
made what many consider to be his masterpiece, Ready for
Freddie, which was also his first Blue Note collaboration
with Wayne Shorter. That same year, Hubbard joined Art
Blakey's Jazz Messengers, replacing Lee Morgan. By now,
he had indisputably developed his own sound and had won
Down Beat "New Star" award on trumpet.
Hubbard remained with the Jazz Messengers until 1964,
when he left to form his own small group, which over the
next years featured Kenny Barron and Louis Hayes.
Throughout the 1960s, Hubbard also played in bands led by
other legends, including Max Roach, and was a significant
presence on the Blue Note recordings of Herbie Hancock,
Wayne Shorter and Hank Mobley. Hubbard was also featured
on four classic, groundbreaking 1960s sessions: Ornette
Coleman's Free Jazz, Oliver Nelson's Blues and the Abstract
Truth, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch, and John Coltrane's
Ascension.
In the 1970s, Hubbard achieved his greatest popular
success with a series of crossover albums on Atlantic and
CTI Records, including the Grammy Award-winning First
Light. He returned to acoustic hard bop in 1977 when he
toured with the V.S.O.R quintet, which teamed him with
the members of Miles Davis' 1960s ensemble: Wayne
Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter,
and Tony Williams. In the 1980s, C ^£D BIBIjqq
Hubbard again led his own
groups, often in the company
of Joe Henderson, and he
collaborated with fellow
trumpet legend Woody
Shaw on a series of
albums for the Blue Note
and Timeless labels.
<$>■
H*
J/ /,
>
Ready for Freddie, Blue Note, 1961
Hub-Tones. Blue Note, 1962
Straight Life. Columbia, 1970
Live. CLP, 1983
New Colors. Hip Bop Essence, 2000
NEA Jazz Masters 13
LU
Levy
Born April 1 1 . 1 91 2 in New Orleans, LA
MANAGER BASSIST
Renowned as a leading representative of
jazz musicians, and as the first African
American to work in the music
industry as a personal manager, John Levy
was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in
L912. Mis mother was a midwife and
nurse, and his lather was an engine
sinker on the railroad. Whim Levy was
six. his family moved to Chicago, where
<i well-meaning schoolteacher would
encourage him to find a steady job at the
post ol!i( e. I le (lid work there lor a while.
but he also began gigging around town as a
j.l// b.issisl.
In 1944, Lev) left Chicago with the Stuff Smith
Iih. in play .in extended engagement at the Onyx club on
:nd Street. Over the next years, he was to
•• ith man) jazz notables, including Hen Webster,
j Ri( h. I. iml ( lamer, Milt Jackson, and Billy Taylor, as
i Millie Holida\ ,it her comeback performance at
1 i li. ill in 1'I4H.
Shearing heard Levy play at Birdland
■ iand and hired him for his own
Buddj DeFranco. As Lew toured the
Stuff Smith. The 1943 Trio,
Progressive, 1943
country playing with the original George Shearing
Billie Holiday, The Complete Decca
Recordings, WP, 1944-50
Erroll Garner, Penthouse Serenade, Savoy, 1 945
Billy Taylor, 1945-49, Classics, 1945-49
George Shearing, Complete Savoy
Trio and Quintet Sessions.
Jazz Factory, 1945-50
Quintet, he gradually took on die role of road
manager. Finally, in 1951. Levy put aside
performing to become die group's full-time
manager, making music-industrv historv
and establishing the career he would fol-
low for the next half-century.
Levy's client roster over the years has
included Nat and Cannonball Adderley.
Betty Carter. Roberta Flack, Herbie
Hancock. Shirley Horn. Freddie Hubbard.
Ahmad Jamal. Ramsey Lewis. Abbey
Lincoln. Herbie Mann. VVes Montgomen.
Carol Sloane. Joe Williams, and Nancy Wilson.
as well as Arsenio Hall (the only comedian he has
managed among some 100 entertainers). In recognition of
his achievements. Levy has received awards such as a cer-
tificate of appreciation from Los Angeles Mayor Tom
Bradley (1991), induction into the International Jazz Hall of
Fame (1997). and the Lifetime Achievement Award of die
Los Angeles Jazz Society (2002). John Levy continues to be
active today in representing his clients.
II Nl
w
»■ * — ■»■ ■
WM
|A
V
Gerald Wilson leads
his orchestra during
the 2005 NEA Jazz
Masters ceremony
and concert in Long
Beach, California.
1983-2005
Names in bold in biographies denote NEA Jazz Masters awardees
All recordings listed in Selected Discography are under the artist's name unless otherwise noted.
Years listed under recordings in Selected Discography denote the years the recordings were made.
Since 2004, NEA Jazz Masters have been awarded by categories, which are listed next to years for these Fellows.
:er
TROMBONIST CELLIST COMPOSER ARRANGER EDUCATOR
Born December 21, 1931 in Indianapolis,
^DISCOC^
A true jazz renaissance man, David Baker has
been active in the jazz community as musician,
composer, educator, conductor, and
author. Of all the NEA Jazz Masters, he is
one ol the most active as a college and
university educator.
Baker's music career began on the
trombone in the early 1950s as he
worked with local groups, as well as
Lionel Hampton, while working on
his doctorate al Indiana University.
He lived in California in 1956-57.
pla) ing in the bands of Stan Kenton
.ind Maynard Ferguson, and relumed
to Indiana in 1958, leading bis own big
hand lor two years. He then attended the
s. hool oi la// in Lenox, Massachusetts in
I 60, joining a stellar i lass of musicians that
in< luded members ol the Ornette Coleman Quartet. Shortly
- he worked with the George Russell hand, playing
ifluentiaJ earls alliums. In Russell's hand.
displayed exceptional technique,
"tih. ai the songs.
eventually Ton ed Baker to
a trombonist He switi bed
on ( omposition. As a
an :■ ol works, from
small ensemble to orchestral, often straddling the fence
between jazz and chamber music. He has also worked on
purely chamber and orchestral works. By the early
f>
George Russell, Stratusphunk,
Original Jazz Classics, 1960
George Russell, Ezz-thetics.
Original Jazz Classics, 1961
George Russell, The Stratus Seekers.
Original Jazz Classics, 1961
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra,
Big Band Treasures Live, Smithsonian
Recordings, 1996
Steppin'Out, Liscio, 1998
1970s, he had returned to the trombone — playing
on Bill Evans' 1972 album Li\ing Time, with
George Russell arranging — while continuing
to play the cello as well. Although a strong
player on both instruments, he is most
renowned for his compositions.
Baker became a distinguished professor
of music at Indiana Universitv and chairman
of the Jazz Department in 1966. He has
published in numerous scholarly journals
and has written several musical treatises as
well as having authored more than 70 books
on jazz and African American music. Since 1991.
Baker has been the artistic and musical director of
the acclaimed Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
He has received numerous awards and citations, includ-
ing being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for his
composition Levels, a concerto for bass, jazz band, wood-
winds, and strings. He has served as a member of the NEAs
National Council on the Arts, was founding president of the
National fazz Service Organization, and is former president
of the International Association for Jazz Education.
1 1» NEA Jiizz Miistere
-.V
Dann
GUITARIST BANJOIST VOCALIST COMPOSER EDUCATOR
Barker
Born January 13, 1909 in New Orleans, LA
Died March 13, 1994
Upholder of the New Orleans tradition of jazz and
blues, this master guitar and banjo player was as
well known for his humor and storytelling as for his
playing. Many of the younger New Orleans musicians also
credit him with providing invaluable information, instruc-
tion, and mentoring.
He started his musical training on the clarinet, instructed
by the great Barney Bigard, and moved on to the drums,
taught by his uncle, Paul Barbarin. These instances of musi-
cal mentoring and instruction available in New Orleans
would inspire him to carry on the tradition of mentoring
younger musicians. He later took up the ukulele and the
banjo, and began finding work with jazz and blues artists
such as the Boozan Kings and Little Brother Montgomery.
In 1930 he moved to New York, where he met his wife,
vocalist Blue Lu Barker, with whom he frequently recorded.
He also wrote many of the songs she performed, such as
"Don't You Feel My Leg." By then he had switched from
banjo to guitar and found work with Sidney Bechet, James P.
Johnson, Albert Nicholas, Fess Williams, and Henry "Red"
Allen. He spent the rest of the 1930s working with the big
bands of Lucky Millinder, Benny Carter, and Cab Calloway,
with whom he stayed for seven years.
In the late 1940s he traveled as a freelance musician,
making recordings in Los Angeles and New Orleans. In
1947, Barker appeared on the This Is Jazz radio series, and
began playing banjo again. He returned to New York in
1949, working with trombonists Wilbur De Paris and Conrad
Janis, and accompanied his wife on gigs. In the early 1960s,
he led his own band at Jimmy Ryan's on 52nd Street, then
returned to the Crescent City in 1965. Barker continued
playing up to the end of his life, even appearing on the Dirty
Dozen Brass Band's 1993 recording, Jelly. A number of his
compositions have been widely interpreted, such as "Save
the Bones for Henry Jones."
Just as important as his performing career were his edu-
cational activities. When he returned home to New Orleans
in 1965, he worked for 10 years as an assistant curator for
the New Orleans Jazz Museum, help-
ing to continue interest in the ^c^ DISC °G/?,,
culture and tradition of the
music. He also mentored
young musicians through
his leadership of the
Fairview Baptist Church
Brass Band. Barker was a
writer as well, co-author-
ing with Jack Buerkle a
study on New Orleans
music, Bourbon Street
Mack, and writing his
memoirs, A Life in Jazz.
4^ *y
Blue Lu Barker, 1938-39,
Classics. 1938-39
Blue Lu Barker, 1946-49,
Classics, 1946-49
Save the flonflfOrleans, 1988
Blue Lu Barker, Live at New Orleans
Jazz Festival, Orleans, 1989
Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Jelly,
Columbia, 1993
NEA Jazz Masters 1 7
I^H
■
illiam "Count
asie
Born August 21. 1904 in Red Bank, NJ
Died April 26, 1984
PIANIST ORGANIST COMPOSER ARRANGER BANDLEADER
Though a pianist and occasional organist. Count Basie's
fame stems mainly from his history as one of the great
1 1. n id leaders. Basie's arrangements made good use of
soloists, allowing musicians such as Lester Young, Buck
Clayton. Sweets Edison, and Frank Foster to create some of
their best work. Although his strength was as a bandleader.
Basie's sparse piano style often delighted audiences with its
swinging simplicity.
Basie's first teacher was his mother, who taught him
pi. mo. Later, the informal organ lessons from his mentor
I .its Waller helped him find work in a theater accompany-
ing silent films. In 1927. Basie found himself in Kansas
City, playing with two of the most famous bands in the citv:
Wilier Page's Blue Devils and the Bennie Moten band. In
Basie started his own Kansas City band, engaging the
• the Moten band, Thej performed nightly radio
broadi asts, which caughl the attention of music producer
fohn Hammond In 1936, Hammond brought the Basie
York, where it opened at the Roseland
By the next \e,ir. the band was a fixture on
ceat the Famous Door.
s time the kej to Basie's band was what
Ml Ainerii an Rhythm Section:"
guitar. Walter Page on bass, and |o Jones
iile potent, including
and I lersc fiel Evans on saxc-
lison on trumpets; and
■n trombones. With a
i top-noti h soloists in the horn
<®
■iP
,^D DISCQq
V,
The Original American Decca
Recordings. MCA, 1937-39
April in Paris. Verve, 1956
The Complete Atomic Basie.
Roulette. 1957
Count Basie and the Kansas City 7,
Impulse!. 1962
77?e Basie Big Band.
Pablo, 1975
section, Basie's band became
one of the most popular
between 1937-49. scoring
such swing hits as "One
O'clock Jump" and
"Jumpin" at the Woodside."
Lester Young's tenor saxo-
phone playing during this
period, in particular on such
recordings as "Lester Leaps In"
and "Taxi War Dance." influenced jazz
musicians for years to come. In addition.
Basie's use of great singers such as Helen Humes and
Jimmy Rushing enhanced his band's sound and popularity.
Economics forced Basie to pare down to a septet in
1950. By 1952 he had returned to his big band sound,
organizing what became euphemistically known as
his "New Testament" band, which began a residency at
Birdland in New York. The new band retained the same
high standards of musicianship as the earlier version.
with such standouts as Frank Foster, Frank Wes. Eddie
"Lockjaw" Smith. Thad Jones, and Joe Williams. Foster's
composition "Shiny Stockings" and Williams' rendition of
"Ia ery Day" brought Basic a couple of much-needed hits in
the mid- 1950s. In addition to achieving success with his
own singers, he also enjoyed acclaim for records backing
mii h stars as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis. Jr.. and Tony
Bennett. Basie continued to perform and record until his
death in 1984.
NKA Jazz Musters
* • <*5k±. ••
Loui
DRUMMER COMPOSER ARRANGER BANDLEADER EDUCATOR
Bellson
Born July 6, 1924 in Rock Falls, IL
Referred to by Duke Ellington as "not only the world's
greatest drummer... [but also] the world's greatest
musician," Louie Bellson has expressed himself on
drums since age three. At 15, he pioneered the double bass
drum set-up, and two years later he triumphed over 40,000
drummers to win the Gene Krupa drumming contest.
Bellson has performed on more than 200
Live in Stereo at the Flamingo Hotel, Vol.
Jazz Hour, 1959
albums as one of the most sought-after big
band drummers, working with such greats
as Duke Ellington (who recorded many of
Bellson's compositions). Count Basie,
Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry
James, Woody Herman, Oscar Peterson,
Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Armstrong, and
Lionel Hampton. He toured with
Norman Granz's all-star Jazz at the
Philharmonic, and worked with many
vocalists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah
Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Joe; Williams, and
his late wife, Pearl Bailey, for whom he served
as musical director. He also appeared in several
films in the 1940s, including The Power Girl, The Gang's
All Here, and A Song is Born.
A prolific composer, Bellson has more than 1,000
compositions and arrangements to his name, embracing jazz,
swing, orchestral suites, symphonic works, and ballets.
^DDISCOo^
7.
Dynamite I, Concord, 1979
East Side Suite, Musicmasters, 1 987
Black, Brown & Beige, Musicmasters, 1992
Live from New York, Telarc, 1993
As an author, he has published more than a dozen books on
drums and percussion, and is a six-time Grammy Award
nominee. In 1998, he was hailed — along with Roy Haynes,
Elvin Jones, and Max Roach — as one of four "Living Legends
of Music" when he received the American Drummers
Achievement Award from the Zildjian Company.
Bellson also is a highly sought-after
educator, giving music and drum workshops
and clinics, teaching not onlv his dvnamic
drumming technique but also the jazz
heritage. He has been awarded four
honorary doctoral degrees from Northern
Illinois University, Denison University.
Augustana College, and DePaul University.
In 2003. a historical landmark
was dedicated at his birthplace in Rock
P'alls, Illinois, inaugurating an annual
three-day celebration there in his honor.
Continuing to compose and record, his 2005
recording, The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson.
showcases his prowess for blending orchestral
music, choir, and big band. He continues to perform with
his big band after more than 65 years onstage, still thrilling
audiences worldwide.
NEA Jazz Masters 19
akey
DRUMMER BANDLEADER
Born October 11. 1919 in Pittsburgh, PA
Died October 16, 1990
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers not only supplied
consistently exciting and innovative music for nearly
40 years, but also provided the experience and men-
toring for young musicians to learn their trade. Though self-
taught, Blakey was already leading his own dance band by
age 14. Blakey's first noted sideman job came in 1942 with
Mary Lou Williams, whom he joined for a club engagement
at Kelly's Stables in New York. The following year he joined
the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, where he stayed until
joining Billy Fckstine's modern jazz big band in 1944.
A subsequent trip to Africa, ostensibly to immerse himself
in Islam, revealed to him that jazz was truly an American
music which Ik; preached from the bandstand thereafter.
He adopted the Muslim name of Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, but
• ontinued to record under Art Blakey.
In tin: earl) 1950s, he worked with such greats as Miles
Davis, Charlie Parker, Horace Silver, and Clifford Brown.
I In- latter two Imi imc members of the Jazz Messengers,
i!\ a cooperative unit Brown, then
to form their own hands and Blakey became the
sengers. The Messengers went on
I ailed hard bop, a logical
the bebop style thai was mom hard-driving
i i ' era made a concerted
jazz that had
n the ballroom era () | jazz dec lined.
Blakey powered his bands with a distinctive, take-no-
prisoners style of drumming that recalled the thunderous
and communicative drum traditions of Africa. Though
his drumming became among the most easily recognized
sounds in jazz, Blakey always played for the band,
prodding on his immensely talented colleagues' solos.
From the first Jazz Messengers band he formed, Blakey
has welcomed generations of exceptional young musicians
who have evolved into prominent bandleaders and contribu-
tors themselves. That list, reading like a Who's Who of jazz,
includes Donald Byrd, Johnny Griffin, Lee Morgan, Benny
Golson, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett,
Woody Shaw, Joanne Brackeen, Bobby Watson, James
Williams, and three of the Marsalis brothers (Wynton,
Branford, and Delfeayo). His mentoring of these musicians,
helping them to hone their skills
and preparing them to lead
their own bands, has helped
keep the jazz tradition
alive and thriving. For
the remainder of his
career, Blakey contin-
ued to take the Jazz
Messengers message
across the globe.
A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1-2.
Blue Note, 1954
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
with Thelonious Monk. Atlantic, 1957
A lun!
3I™N
Moanin. B\W Note, 1958
Buhaina's Delight.
Blue Note, 1961
Keystone 3. Concord, 1982
20 NKA .1.
PIANIST VOCALIST
rowii
Cleo Brown bears the distinction of being the first
woman instrumentalist honored with the NEA Jazz
Masters Fellowship. Her family moved to Chicago in
1919 and four years later, at age 14, she started working pro-
fessionally with a vaudeville show. Her brother Everett,
who worked with "Pine Top" Smith, taught her the boogie
woogie piano style that became her trademark.
Brown performed in the Chicago area during the late
1920s. In 1935, she replaced Fats Waller on his New York
radio series on WABC, and soon began recording. Her
version of "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie" was influential on
pianists that came after her, and she
is credited with being an early influence on
Dave Brubeck, who played during the
intermissions of her shows, and Marian
McPartland, among others. Through the
1950s she worked frequently at that
city's Three Deuces club, establishing
a reputation as a two-fisted, driving
^
Born December 8, 1909 in Meridian, MS
Died April 15, 1995
pianist. Brown began to gain international renown for her
work, and she continued to perform regularly in New York,
Hollywood, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco until
1953, making records for Capitol Records and performing
with the Decca All-Stars, among others.
Brown then dropped out of the music business com-
pletely and took up full-time nursing. After retiring from
nursing in 1973, she returned to music, spending her latter
years as a church musician in her Seventh Day Adventist
Church in Denver, Colorado. In 1987, Marian McPartland
sought out Brown as a guest on her long-running radio
series, Piano Jazz. A recording of the program was
released as Living in the Afterglow, Brown's last
recording. Although all the numbers are
gospel songs (many are originals by
Brown), they are played in the same rol-
Various Artists, Boogie Woogie Stomp,
ASV/Living Era, 1930s-40s hckm 8 st y le as her 1930s recordings
The Legendary Cleo Brown, President, 1 930s
Boogie Woogie, Official, 1935-36
Here Comes Cleo, Hep, 1935-36
Living in the Afterglow,
Audiophile, 1987
NEA Jazz Masters 21
►rown
BASSIST EDUCATOR
Born October 13, 1926 in Pittsburgh, PA
Died July 2, 2002
Ray Brown's dexterity and rich sound on the bass
made him one of the most popular and prolific musi-
cians in jazz for over 50 years. The Penguin Guide to
jazz on CD notes that Brown is the most cited musician in
the first edition of the guide, both for his own small ensem-
ble work and as a sideman, testifying to his productivity.
Brown studied the piano from age eight and began play-
ing the bass at 17, performing his first professional job at a
Pittsburgh club in 194:). His first significant tour was with
bandleader Snookum Russell in 1944. whereupon he moved
to Now York the following year. By 1946 he was working in
l)i//\ Gillespie's band, and in 1948 he formed a trio with
Hank Jones and Charlie Smith. In 1948. he married Ella
Fitzgerald and be< ame musical director on her own tours
and her la// at the Philharmonic lours until
their breakup in 1952. In 1951. he
>ii a stint with the f )s< ar Peterson
■ d until 1966. It was
in i, it Brown's
-an
loring the
ad u both thi piano-
^DDISCOG^
Oscar Peterson, The Ultimate
Oscar Peterson, Verve, 1956-64
Much in Common. Verve, 1962-65
Summer Wind: Live a*be Loa, Concord, 1988
Some of My Best Friends Are...
The Sax Players, Telarc. 1995
In the mid-1960s. Brown co-led a quintet with vibist
Milt Jackson, with whom he had worked in the 1940s
as part of Dizzy Gillespie's rhythm section and later as a
member of the Milt Jackson Quartet, the precursor to the
Modern Jazz Quartet. In the late 1970s to early 1980s.
Brown formed his first full-time trio, which was to become
his favored touring and performance unit over the next
couple of decades, and utilized a variety of up-and-coming
musicians in his bands, including pianists Gene Harris.
Monty Alexander, Bennv Green, and Geoff Keezer and
drummers Jeff Hamilton. Lewis Nash. Gregory Hutchinson,
and Kariem Riggins.
Brown was also been involved in jazz education, includ-
ing authoring the Ray Broun Bass Book 1. an instructional
volume. He served as mentor to numerous young musicians,
including those who have passed through his groups and
special guests he invited to play on a series of 1990s
recordings for die Telarc label titled Some of My
Best Friends are.... These have included pianists,
saxophonists, trumpeters, and vocalists. Some of
the greal younger bassists, such as John Clayton
and Christian McBride. count him as a major
influence on their sound.
Ray Brown with John Clayton and
Christian McBride, Super Bass 2.
Telarc. 2001
22 NKA I
PIANIST COMPOSER
Brubeck
Bom December 6, 1920 in Concord, CA
Dave Brubeck, declared a "Living Legend" by the
Library of Congress, continues to be one of the most
active and popular jazz musicians in the world
today. His experiments with odd time signatures
improvised counterpoint, and a distinctive
harmonic approach are the hallmarks of his
unique musical style.
Born into a musically inclined
family — his two older brothers were
professional musicians — he began taking
piano lessons from his mother, a classical
pianist, at age four. After graduating
from College of the Pacific in 1942, he
enlisted in the Army, and while serving
in Europe led an integrated G.I. jazz band.
At the end of World War II, he studied
composition at Mills College with French clas-
sical composer Darius Milhaud, who encouraged
him to introduce jazz elements into his classical
compositions. This experimentation of mixed genres led to
the formation of the Dave Brubeck Octet that included Paul
Desmond, Bill Smith, and Cal Tjader. In 1949, Brubeck
formed an award-winning trio with Cal Tjader and Ron
dotty, and in 1951 expanded the; band to include Desmond.
Brubeck became the first jazz artist to make the cover of
Time magazine, in 1954, and in 1958 performed in Europe
and the Middle Last for the U.S. State Department, leading
to the introduction of music from other cultures into his
repertoire. In 1959, the Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded an
experiment in time signatures, Time Out. The album sold
Jazz at Oberlin,
Original Jazz Classics, 1953
lime Out, Columbia, 1959
The Heal Ambassadors,
Columbia/Legacy. 1961
Classical Brubeck,
Telarc, 2002
Private Brubeck Remembers,
Telarc, 2004
more than a million copies, and Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la
Turk," based on a Turkish folk rhythm, and Desmond's "Take
Five" appeared on jukeboxes throughout the world.
Throughout his career, Brubeck has continued
to experiment with integrating jazz and classi-
cal music. In 1959, he premiered and
recorded his brother's Dialogues for Jazz
Combo and Orchestra with the New York
Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein.
In 1960, he composed Points on Jazz for
the American Ballet Theatre, and in later
decades composed for and performed
with the Murray Louis Dance Co. His
musical theater piece, The Real
Ambassadors starring Louis Armstrong
and Carmen McRae. was also written and
recorded in 1960 and performed to great
acclaim at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival. The
classic Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paid Desmond,
Eugene Wright, and Joe Morello was dissolved in December
1967 and Brubeck's first of many oratorios, The bight in the
Wilderness, was premiered in 1968.
In the early 1970s, Brubeck performed with three of his
musical sons. He later led a quartet thai featured former
Octet member Hill Smith. His current group is with Bobby
Mililello, sax and flute; Randy Jones, drums; and Michael
Moore, bass. He has received many honors in the U.S. and
abroad for his contribution to jazz, including the National
Medal of Arts, a ( Irammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and
the Austrian Medal ol the Arts.
NEA Jazz Masters 23
GUITARIST COMPOSER EDUCATOR
Born July 31, 1931 in Detroit,
<&
^DDISCOo^
Kenny Burrell pioneered the guitar-led trio with bass
and drums in the late 1950s. Known for his har-
monic creativity, lush tones, and lyricism on the gui-
tar, he is also a prolific and highly regarded composer. Born
in Detroil in 1931, he found musical colleagues at an early
age among Paul Chambers, Tommy Flanagan, Frank Foster,
Yusel Lateef, and the brothers Thad. Hank, and Elvin Jones.
While still a student at Wayne State University, he made his
Bret major recording in 1951 with Dizzy Gillespie,
|ohn Coltrane. Percy Heath, and Milt
|a( kson.
AJtei graduation, be toured lor six
months with the Oscar Peterson Trio
and then moved to New York, where
he performed in Broadwaj pit hands,
on pop and R8d3 studio sessions
(with Lena Home, Tony Bennett, and
Brown), in jazz venues, and on
He went on to work
■ in h artists as Nal
lie HoUday, Stan Getz,
Dorham, Benny
i lillllllV
Smith irded more than
nisi on more than 200
ith Art Blakey, Herbie
Hani i" k
>
Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane,
Prestige/OJC. 1958
Midnight Blue, Blue Note, 1963
Guitar Form's^Jene. 1 964
Live at the Blue Note, Concord Jazz, 1 996
Kenny Burrell & the Boys Choir of
Harlem, Love is the Answer,
Concord Jazz, 1997
Kenny Burrell's compositions have been recorded by
artists including Ray Brown, June Christy, Grover
Washington, Jr., Frank Wess, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
His extended composition for the Boys Choir of Harlem
was premiered at New York's Lincoln Center, and his "Dear
Ella," performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater, won a 1998
Grammy Award.
In addition to performing and recording, he is a
professor of music and ethnomusicology at the
University of California at Los Angeles. A
recognized authority on the music of Duke
Ellington, he developed the first regular college
course ever taught in the United States on
Ellington in 1978. In 1997. he was
appointed Director of the Jazz Studies
Program at UCLA, where he
has enlisted such faculty members
as George Bohanon, Billy Quids. Billy
Higgins, Harold Land. Bobby Rodriguez, and
Gerald Wilson.
Kenny Burrell is the author of two books.
Jazz Guitar and Jazz Guitar Solos. In 2004. he
received a Jazz Educator of the Year Award from
Down Beat I [e is a founder of the Jazz Heritage
Foundation and the Friends of Jazz at UCLA and is recog-
nized as an international ambassador for jazz and its promo-
tion as an art form.
24 NKA .1.
TRUMPETER FLUGELHORNIST EDUCATOR
Born December 9, 1932 in Detroit,
A pioneer jazz educator on African American college
and university campuses, as well as general colleges
and universities, Donald Byrd has also been a
leading improviser on trumpet. Raised in the home of
a Methodist minister and musician, he learned music
in the then highly regarded music education system
in the Detroit high schools. Byrd went on to earn
degrees from Wayne State University and the
Manhattan School of Music, eventually earning a
doctorate from the University of Colorado School
of Education. He studied music with the famed /\
teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris in 1963.
Byrd played in the Air Force band during 1951-52,
then relocated to New York. Some of his earliest gigs in
New York were with the George Wallington group at
Cafe Bohemia. He joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
in December 1955. Following his Messengers experience,
he worked in a variety of bands with Max Roach, John
Coltrane, Red Garland, and Gigi Gryce, refining his playing
skills. In 1958 he co-led a band with fellow Detroiter
Pepper Adams, which continued for the next three years.
In the early 1960s, he became a bandleader of his own
touring quintet. During 1965-66 he was a house arranger for
the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. It was also at this time that
#
&
he became more active as an educator,
teaching at New York's Music &
^
»>
First Flight, Denmark, 1955
Early Byrd, Blue Note, 1960-72
Electric Byrd, Blue Note, 1970
Black Byrd, Blue Note, 1974
City Called Heaven, Landmark, 1991
Art High School. He held clinics
for the National Stage Band
Camps, giving private lessons
and instruction. Among
the college and university
teaching appointments that
followed were Rutgers
University, Hampton
University, Howard
University, North Carolina
Central University, North Texas
State, and Delaware State
University. He also earned a law
degree between teaching appointments.
At Howard University, where he was chair-
man of the Black Music Department, he brought together a
group of talented students to form Donald Byrd & the Black-
byrds, a pop-jazz band that had a hit record for Blue Note,
and continued to record — sans Byrd — for the Fantasy label.
His recorded innovations also included the use of vocal cho-
rus, which resulted in his popular recording of "Cristo
Redemptor," as well as his engagements of gospel texts.
NEA Jazz Masters 25
Benny
Carter
Born August 8, 1907 in New York, NY
Died July 12. 2003
SAXOPHONIST TRUMPETER ARRANGER COMPOSER BANDLEADER
Benny darter made memorable impressions as a great
bandleader and improviser with a highly influential
style. Largely self-taught, Carter's first instrument
u.is the trumpet, altbough the; alto saxophone eventually
hi'( .iinc his principle instrument. Some of his earliest
professional jobs were with bands led by cornetist June
( Hark .ind pi. mist Earl Hines, where his unusual ability to
pla) both trumpel and saxophone was highly regarded.
In i'i 10-3 l he spent a year with the Fletcher Henderson
On hestra, then for a short time Ik; succeeded Don Redman
is musi if McKinney's Cotton Pickers. During
the earl) 1930s, be also made his Mist recordings with the
date Dandies, which included Coleman Hawkins.
In 19 i formed his own big band. At various
times the band ini luded su< h significant players
leading a multiethnic band in Scandinavia in 1937.
Growing restless. Carter returned to the U.S. in 1938 and
assembled a new big band, which became house band at die
Savoy Ballroom through 1940. In 1942, with another new
band in tow. he settled in Los Angeles, his longtime home
base. With lucrative film studios calling. Carter began scor-
ing films and television. He became one of the first African
Americans to be employed in the field, easing the way for
other black composers. His first film work was in 1943 on
Stormy Weather.
Starting in 1946. with his composing and arranging
skills in constant demand. Carter disbanded his orchestra
and became largely a freelance player. He participated in
tours with Jazz at the Philharmonic and wrote
n Webster, Chu Berry, Teddy Wilson,
Di( k\ Wells, Bill Coleman, and Sid Catlett.
In ! • i dissolved bis band and
the next year, where be
• i foi the BBC
don until I 1 ' 18 His
mb i adorial
lisl u ith
(I
arrangements for major singers such as Ray
Charles, Ella Fitzgerald. Peggy Lee. Sarah
^DDISCOo^
All of Me,
Bluebird, 1934-59
Jazz Giant.
Original Jazz Classics, 1957-58
Further ommtions,
Impulse!, 1961-66
In the Mood for Swing.
MusicMasters, 1987
Harlem Renaissance.
MusicMasters, 1992
Vaughan. and Louis Armstrong. Many of
his subsequent recordings, such as the
widelv hailed Further Definitions, were
evidence of the depth of his composing
and arranging mastery He received the
National Medal of Arts in 2000.
26 NEA .1.
VOCALIST BANDLEADER EDUCATOR
Carter
Born May 16, 1930 in Flint, Ml
Died September 26, 1998
Betty Carter developed a legendary reputation, along
with Art Blakey, as one of the great mentors for
young jazz musicians. Equally legendary was her
singing prowess, creating a distinctive style of improvisation
that could transcend any song.
Carter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory, a skill
that served her well later in her career in writing original
songs. Growing up in Detroit, she was exposed to numer-
ous jazz greats who passed through town, even getting a
golden opportunity as a teenager to sit in with Charlie
Parker. Carter's big break came in 1948, when she was
asked to join the Lionel Hampton band. Developing her
vocal improvisations during the three years with the band
led to her singular singing style. Hampton, impressed with
her saxophone-like improvisatory vocals, dubbed her
"Betty Bebop." After leaving Hampton's band, she worked
variously with such greats as Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and
Sonny Rollins before creating her own band.
Although she recorded for major record labels early in
her career, Carter became increasingly frustrated with record
company dealings and disparities and formed her own label
Bet-Car in 1971, one of the first jazz artists to do so. Selling
her own recordings through various distributors, she was
able to sustain her performing career. Carter was uncomfort-
able with studio recordings, but live recordings, like The
Audience with Betty Carter, demonstrate her remarkably
inventive singing and her ability to drive the band.
Carter's bands served a dual purpose: for her to create her
own great music and to help the young musicians develop
then craft. Many of the musicians who passed through
her groups went on to lead their own groups, such as Geri
Allen, Stephen Scott, Don Braden, and Christian McBride.
She also developed a mentoring
program called Betty Carter's
Jazz Ahead through links
with organizations
like the International
Association for Jazz
Education, 651 Arts,
and the Kennedy
Center. The program
was a one-to-two
week teaching seminar
where nationally
selected promising
young jazz musicians
Learned from Carter and other
seasoned musicians, culminating
in a final concert of instructors and students together. Jazz
Ahead was one of Carter's proudest achievements, and she
worked with the program up until her death.
I Can't Help It,
Impulse!, 1958-60
At the Village Vanguard,
Verve, 1970
The Audience with Betty Carter,
Verve, 1979
Look What I Got,
Verve, 1988
Feed the Fire,
Verve, 1993
NEA Jazz Masters 27
• •••
• ••
'
BASSIST CELLIST COMPOSER EDUCATOR
Bom May 4, 1937 in Ferndale, I
Ron Carter's dexterity and harmonic sophistication
have few rivals in the history of bass in jazz. In addi-
tion to the bass, he has also employed both the cello
and the piccolo bass (a downsized bass pitched somewhere
between cello and contrabass), one of the first musicians
to use those instruments in jazz settings.
His pursuit of music began with the
cello, at age 10. One of the many students
aspiring to be musicians in the Detroit
public schools, he switched to the bass
I Eigb School. Hi? studied
.it the Eastman Si hool of Music in
K(« tester, New York and eventually
made his way to New York City,
aster's degree
in Musii from the Manhattan Si hool
ii 1961. He began freelancing,
playing with a host of jazz greats, such as
( bjco Hamilton, Ranch Weston. Bobby
ill Monk, and Art Farmer.
nii.il albums with the greal
Dolphy, two undei Dolphy's name and
ind Dolphy's Out There
' played i ello against
i in Ii lowei texture against
his horn plaj ing.
MiU's Davis in wh.it would bet ome
intel tli.it iik ludcd VVavne
Miles Davis, ES.P.
Columbia, 1965
Live at Village West,
Concord, 1982
Eig,
Drevfi
us,
1990
i
Herbie Hani cm k l).i\is even
: notably "R.J.,"
"Mood," and "Eighty-One" — and the rhythm section of
Carter, Williams, and Hancock powered the horn section
to greater heights. He remained with Davis from 1963-68,
whereupon he grew tired of the rigors of the road, preferring
to freelance, lead his own groups, and teach. Among the
cooperative bands he performed with during the
? °Q / *4/> remainder of the 1960s were the New York Jazz
Sextet and the New York Bass Choir.
Throughout the 1970s, he was a recording stu-
dio bassist in high demand, though he never
stopped gigging widi a variety of artists and
bands, including several touring all-star
units such as the CTI All-Stars, V.S.O.P.
(ostensibly a reunion of die Davis band
minus die leader), and Uie Milestone
Jazzstars, which included Sonny Rollins on
tenor saxophone. McCoy Tyner on piano,
and Al Foster on drums.
His freelance work has continued
throughout his career, including chamber and
orchestral work, film and television soundtracks, and
even some hip hop recordings. Carter continues to record
with young musicians such as Stephen Scott and Lewis
Nash, and his college and university teaching career has also
been quite active. He is Distinguished Professor of Music,
Emeritus of the City College of New York, and has received
honorary doi torate degrees from The Berklee School of
Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and the New England
Conservator] in Boston. He has also written several book on
bass. ju( hiding Building A Id/:/. Bass Line.
Brandenburg Concerto,
Blue Note, 1995
The Golden Striker,
Blue Note, 2002
28 NKA .1.
00
CO
DRUMMER BANDLEADER
Kenny Clarke, known among musicians as "Klook" for
one of his characteristic drum licks, is truly a jazz
pioneer. He was a leader in the rhythmic advances
that signaled the beginning of the modern jazz era, his drum
style becoming the sound of bebop and influencing drum-
mers such as Art Blakey and Max Roach.
Clarke studied music broadly growing up, including
piano, trombone, drums, vibraphone, and theory while in
high school. Such versatility of knowledge would later serve
him well as a bandleader. Clarke moved to New York in late
1935, where he first began developing his unique approach
to the drums, one with a wider rhythmic palette than that of
the swing band drummers. Instead of marking the count
with the top cymbal, Clarke used counter-rhythms to accent
the beat, what became known as "dropping of bombs."
He found a kindred spirit in Dizzy Gillespie when they
hooked up in Teddy Hill's band in 1939. A key opportunity
to further expand his drum language came in late 1940
when he landed a gig in the house band (with Thelonious
Monk on piano, and Nick Fenton on bass) at Minton's
Playhouse. It was this trio that welcomed such fellow
travelers as guitarist Charlie Christian, Gillespie, and a host
of others to its nightly jam sessions. These sessions became
the primary laboratory for their brand of jazz, which came
to be called bebop.
A stint in the Army from 1943-4(i introduced him to
pianist John Lewis. After their discharge he and Lewis
joined Gillespie's bebop hig band, which gave Clarke his
first taste of Paris during a European tour, a place that even-
Clarke
Born January 2, 1914 in Pittsburgh, PA
Died January 26, 1985
Modern Jazz Quartet,
The Artistry of the Modern Jazz Quartet,
Prestige, 1952-55
Bohemia After Dark, Savoy, 1 955
Discoveries, Savoy, 1 955
Kenny Clarke Meets the Detroit Jazzmen,
Savoy, 1956
Clarke-Boland Big Band,
RTE, 1968
tually became his home for
nearly 30 years. After
returning to New York,
he joined the Milt
Jackson Quartet,
which metamor-
phosed into the
Modern Jazz Quartet
in 1952. Though he
and Lewis remained
friends, Clarke chafed
at what he felt was the
too-staid atmosphere of
the MJQ. In 1956, he
migrated to Paris, working
with Jacques Helian's band and
backing up visiting U.S. jazz artists.
During the years 1960-73, he co-led the major Europe-
based jazz big band with Belgian pianist Francy Boland, the
Clarke-Boland Big Band. The band featured the best of
Europe's jazz soloists, including a number of exceptional
U.S. expatriate musicians living in Europe. Among these
were saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Sahib Shihab, and
trumpeter Idrees Sulieman. Alter the disbanding of his
big band, he found numerous opportunities both on the
handstand and teaching in the classroom, remaining quite
active as a freelancer, often working with visiting U.S.
jazz musicians, until his death in 1985.
NKA Jazz Mastere 29
Clayton
Born November 12. 1911 in Parsons, KS
Died December 8, 1991
TRUMPETER COMPOSER ARRANGER BANDLEADER EDUCATOR
A valued member of a variety of classic big bands,
liu( k ClaytOE was versatile enough to thrive as a
bandleader, session man, and trumpet soloist.
( l,i\ toil first studied piano with his father beginning at age
six, taking up the; trumpet at age 17. He played in his
( hurt lis on nostra until 1932 when he moved to California
taking various band jobs. In 1934, Clayton assembled his
own hand and took it to China for two years.
I [e joined Count Basie's hand in Kansas City in 1936 at
the height of its popularity, playing his first promi-
nent solo on "Fiesta in Blue." He wrote several
arrangements lor liasie. including '"laps
Miller'' and "Red Hank Boogie," before
joining the Ann] in 1943. following his
disc harge, he performed around New
through the t'n<\ of the decade.
[azz .it the Philharmonii tours took him
overseas, and he made ret ord sessions
with artists like [immj Rushing and
its foi Duke Ellington and
Harry James. In the earl) 1950s, he part-
ith pianist [oe Bushkin in the Bret
of the influential Embers quartets. Other artists he worked
with include Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Eddie
Condon, Sidney Bechet, and Humphrey Littleton. His
ability to improvise in a variety of styles made him much
in demand for sessions, especially with vocalists such as
Billie Holiday.
Physical issues with his embouchure — how the mouth
forms against the mouthpiece of die instrument — caused
him to relinquish the trumpet from 1972 until late in the
decade, when he was able to resume playing. While
he was unable to perform, Clayton wrote arrange-
ments for various bands. That skill was fully
exercised when he put together his own big
band in the mid-1980s, playing almost
exclusively his own compositions and
arrangements. He also became an educa-
tor, teaching at Hunter College in the
1980s. He continued to freelance for
the remainder of his career, being called
upon as an honored soloist, and spent
much of his last two decades teaching,
lecturing, and arranging.
The Classic Swing of Buck Clayton,
Original Jazz Classics, 1946
Buck Special, Vogue, 1949-53
sjmn the Vaults,
jiff 95:
Jam Session.
Columb
1953-56
Buck and Buddy,
Original Jazz Classics, 1960
A Swingin Dream, Stash, 1988
80 NKA .liiyy. M;ls-.
Orne
SAXOPHONIST TRUMPETER VIOLINIST COMPOSER
Coleman
Born March 9, 1930 in Ft. Worth, TX
Ornette Coleman is one of the true jazz innovators,
whose sound is instantly recognizable and unques-
tionably unique. Coleman's work has ranged from
dissonance and atonality to liberal use of electronic accom-
paniment in his ensembles, as well as the engagement of
various ethnic influences and elements from around the
globe. While experimenting with time and tone, his strong
blues root is always evident.
For the most part, Coleman has been self-taught, begin-
ning on the alto saxophone at age 14. Coleman's earliest
performing experiences were mostly with local rhythm &
blues bands. Coleman eventually settled in Los Angeles in
1952. His search for a different sound and approach, a
means of escaping traditional chord patterns and progres-
sions, led some critics to suggest that he did not know how
to play his instrument. However, he was studying harmony
and theory zealously from books while supporting himself
as an elevator operator. His performances in clubs and jam
sessions were often met with derision if not outright rejec-
tion and anger from his fellow musicians and critics.
Coleman soldiered on, honing his sound with like-minded
musicians, including trumpeter Don Cherry, drummer Billy
Higgins, and bassist Charlie Haden.
The year 1959 was an important one for Coleman and
his band mates: he signed a recording contract with Atlantic;
Records, recording the first album to really present his new
sound, Tomorrow Is The Question!; his quartet was invited
to participate in what became a historic session at the Lenox
School of Jazz in Massachusetts, being championed by John
Lewis and Gunther Schuller; and the band began an
extended engagement at the Five Spot Cafe in New York.
*1
c ^ D DISCO G ,
The Shape of Jazz to Come,
Atlantic, 1959-60
free Jazz, Atlantic, 1960
At the Golden Circle, Stockholm,
Vol. 1-2, Blue Note, 1965
In All Languages,
Verve/Harmolodic, 1987
Colors,
Verve/Harmolodic, 1996
Meanwhile, Ornette Coleman was
developing an approach to his
music that he was to dub
"harmolodics."
Coleman's albums for
AUantic, while tame by
today's standards, were
quite controversial at the
time. Perhaps the most
controversial of this series
of albums was Free Jazz,
recorded with a double quartet
as essentially one continuous
collective improvisation, which
influenced avant-garde recordings in
the 1960s and 1970s. After that recording, Coleman
took time off from playing and recording to study trumpet
and violin.
Since that time Coleman has expanded his composi-
tional outlook. His writing includes works for wind
ensembles, strings, and symphony orchestra (notably his
symphony Skies of America, recorded with the London
Philharmonic). Coleman's ongoing experiments have taken
him to Northern Africa to work with the Master Musicians
of Joujouka, and in recent years he has performed with
an electric ensemble he calls Prime; Time. A recipient of
Guggenheim Fellowships for composition, a MacArthur
grant, and the presigious Gish Prize in 2004, Coleman
continues to astound audiences with his imaginative!
approaches to music.
NEA Jazz Masters 31
avis
TRUMPETER FLUGELHORNIST COMPOSER BANDLEADER
Born May 25, 1926 in Alton, IL
Died September 28, 1991
Miles Davis is arguably the most influential jazz
musician in the post-World War II period, being at
the forefront of changes in the music for more than
40 years. Bom into a middle-class family, Davis started on
the trumpel al age 13. His first professional music job came
when be joined the Eddie Randall band in St. Louis from
1 '14 1-4.!. In the fall of 1944 Davis took a scholarship to
attend the [uilliard School, a convenient passport to New
York. It didn't take him long to immerse himself in the New
York si cue mihI he began working 52nd Street gigs alongside
Charlie Parker in 1945. Soon. Davis found work with
Coleman Hawkins and the big bands of Billy Eckstine and
Benny Carter.
During the late 1940s, a number of musical contempo-
- began to meet and jam regularly al the small apart-
ment ni arranger-pianist Gil Evans. Among them were saxo-
phonists Gerrj Mulligan and Lee Konitz, and pianist John
Lewis Out of this group ol musicians, l).i\ is formed (he
ooni l his liisi major musical statement, Birth of
Iditiorj in thr standard piano, bass and drums
i is' nonet horn section used French horn
b trombone, alto and baritone saxo-
land a unique harmonic sound.
tnbled his Brsl important band with
ind, Paul Chambers, and Philly foe
nnball" Adderlej in 1958. By
■r Knsscils theories,
I than standard ( hnrd
imiis album (and the
nil. kind nt Blue, in 1"
Davis also continued an important musical partnership with
Gil Evans, recording four releases in five years: Miles Ahead.
Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Quiet Nights.
In 1964, Davis assembled a new band of younger musi-
cians, which became known as his second great quintet.
This included Herbie Hancock. Tony Williams. Ron Carter.
and Wayne Shorter. By this time, the Miles
Davis Quintet was recording mostly
originals, with all the band mem- ^t,b
bers contributing memorable <&
Birth of the Cool,
Capitol, 1949-50
Kind of Blue,
Columbia. 1959
nbia,
sWtt
tunes. Davis' horn playing
also changed, increasing
the spacing of notes to
create more suspense in
the music.
In 1968. Davis again
changed direction, leading
the way for electric jazz with
the release of In a Silent Way.
By the L969 release of Bitches
Brew, the transformation was
complete as he deepened the elec-
tronic elements and rock rhythms of his
music. By the mid-1970s, following the debilitating effects
of a 1972 auto accident. Davis went into semi-retirement.
He returned to the scene in 1980 and resumed touring in
1981, with even newer fans in his wake, from then to 1991.
Davis remained vital and popular despite some i riticism
that he had softened his electric approach.
The Complete LiveWthe Plugged Nickel.
Columbia, 1965
Bitches Brew, Columbia, 1969
Amandla,
Warner Brothers, 1989
NKA .1.
PIANIST VOCALIST EDUCATOR
; ,D6roth
'.9. •' 4EW
onegan
Born April 6, 1924 in Chicago, IL
Died May 19, 1998
Blessed with an enormous orchestral capacity at the
keyboard, Dorothy Donegan was fluent in several
styles of jazz as well as with European classical
music. Underrated by some due to her proclivity towards
showy flamboyance and her penchant for entertaining an
audience, she was nonetheless an exceptional pianist with a
rich harmonic sense.
Given her virtuosity, it's no wonder her earliest influence
and one of her champions was the peerless master of the
piano, Art Tatum. Encouraged by her mother to be a profes-
sional musician, Donegan was playing piano for a dollar a
night at Chicago's South Side bars when she was only 14.
She subsequently attended the Chicago Conservatory,
Chicago Music College, and the University of Southern
California, where she studied classical piano.
In 1943, Donegan gave a concert at the Orchestra
Hall in Chicago, the first African American performer
to do so. This created publicity that led to some
work in film [Sensations of 1945) and theater (Star
Time). Her playing career was largely centered
around nightclub engagements, as Donegan was
more comfortable in a live setting than a studio.
In the 1950s, she developed her flamboyant performance
style, which at times tended to obscure her extraordinary
piano playing, deep sense of swing, and wide-ranging
repertoire. She would often spice her performances with
uncanny impressions of other pianists and singers, skills
that enhanced her abilities as an entertainer.
She spent the bulk of her career performing in trios
with bass and drums. Her appearance at the Sheraton
Centre Hotel in 1980 broke all previous attendance records.
In the early 1990s, her show-stopping appearances on
Hank O'Neal's Floating Jazz cruises brought her talents to
the attention of another generation of jazz fans. She also
lectured at several colleges and universities, including
Harvard, Northeastern, and the Manhattan
School of Music, and received an hon-
orary doctoral degree from Roosevelt
University in 1994. Donegan
performed at the White House
in 1993 and gave her last major
performance at the Fujitsu
Concord Jazz Festival in 1997.
Dorothy Romps: A Piano Retrospective,
Rosetta, 1953-79
Makin' Whoopee, Black & Blue, 1979
Live in Copenhagen 1980,
StoryvfWl980
Live at the 1990 Floating Jazz Festival,
Chiaroscuro, 1990
Live at the Floating Jazz Festival
759?, Chiaroscuro. 1992
NEA Jazz Masters 33
Rivera
SAXOPHONIST CLARINETIST FLUTIST COMPOSER
Born June 4, 1948 in Havana, Cuba
The winner of four Grammy Awards, Paquito D'Rivera
is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his
achievements as a classical composer. Born in
Havana, Cuba, he performed at age 10 with the National
Theater Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory of
Music and, at 17. became a featured soloist with the Cuban
National Symphony.
D'Rivera co-founded the; Orquesta Cubana de Musica
Modern;) and served as the band's conductor for two years.
In 1 ( )73, he was co-director of Irakere, a highly popular
ensemble whose explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical,
.iihI traditional ( !uban music had never before been heard.
The blind loured extensively and in 1979 was awarded
theGramm) Award forBesI Latin Jazz Ensemble.
In 1981, while oil tour in Spain, D'Rivera
lii asylum in the l Inited States embassy.
Since then be has toured the world with
jembles— the Paquito D'Rivera
Band, the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet,
and the Chambei fazz Ensemble.
numerous recordings include
lo albums In hihh. be
member oi the United
;.!■■! e ensemble
l)i//\ Gillespie to showi ase
^ODISCOG^
the fusion of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. In
1991, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from
Carnegie Hall for his contributions to Latin music. That
same year, as part of the band Dizzy Gillespie and the
United Nation Orchestra, he along with James Moody, Slide
Hampton, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Arturo Sandoval.
Steve Turre, and others were featured on the Grammy
Award-winning recording, Live at the Royal Festival Hall.
He has appeared at, or written commissions for, fazz
at Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, the National
Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic. London
Philharmonic, Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra,
Simon Bolivar Symphonic Orchestra, and Montreal's
Gerald Danovich Saxophone Quartet. He serves as
*>
Blowin'. Columbia, 1981
Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nation
Orchestra, Live at the Royal Festival Hall.
~ I89
Portraits of Cuba. Chesky, 1996
Brazilian Dreams, MCG Jazz, 2001
Big Band Time. Pimienta, 2003
artistic director of jazz programming at the New
Jersey Chamber Music Society and is artistic
director of the Festival Internacional de Jazz
en el Tambo (Punta del Este. Uruguay). He
has become the consummate multina-
tional ambassador, creating and promoting
a cross-culture of music that moves effort-
lessly among jazz, Latin, and classical.
D'Rivera received the National Medal of
Arts in 2005.
34 NKA I
TRUMPETER
Edison
Born October 10, 1915 in Columbus, OH
Died July 27, 1999
Known in the jazz world as "Sweets," for both his dis
position and his playing ability, Edison was a con-
summate big band section trumpeter and skilled
soloist whose ability to enhance a piece without overpower
ing it was renowned.
A self-taught musician, his earliest gig came
in high school with the Earl Hood band.
From 1933-1935, he played in the Jeter-
Pillars Orchestra, a prominent territory
band of the time. After moving to New
York in 1937, he spent six months with
Lucky Millinder's band, until joining
Count Basie later that year. It was with
Basie that he truly began to distinguish
himself, not only as a strong member of
the trumpet section, but also as a distinc-
tive soloist. His warm sound, using
repeated notes thai lie would bend and rip-
ple, was a welcome contrast to the usual high-
note, piercing solos of most trumpet players. Edison
stayed with the band from 1938 until Basie disbanded in
1950.
Rarely a bandleader under his own name, he spent the
hulk of his career working with singers and with big bands
on the road and in the recording studio. Edison's work with
Millie Holiday and the Nelson Kiddle Orchestra backing
^^DDISCOG^
Frank Sinatra, Songs for Swingin' Lovers,
Capitol, 1955-56
Jawbreakers,
Original Jazz Classics, 1962
Edison's Lights,
Original Jazz Classics, 1976
Swing Summit, Candid, 1 990
Live at the Iridium,
Telarc, 1997
Frank Sinatra during the 1950s is some of his finest, accent-
ing the vocals and setting up the mood of the songs. His
echoing trumpet on Sinatra's Songs for Swingin ' Lovers, for
example, helped set the pace of the songs, playing off
Sinatra's phrasing of the lyrics. Edison provided
some of the bright moments in Holiday's output
in the 1950s on albums such as Songs for
Distingue Lovers. His tasteful playing cre-
ated a great demand from singers for his
services, and besides Sinatra and
Holiday, Edison played behind Ella
Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Sarah
Vaughan, and Nat "King" Cole. Edison
was also a welcome addition to the big
bands he worked with, including Buddy
Rich, Louie Bellson, and Quincy Jones.
Although leaving the Basie band as a
full-time member in 1950, he rejoined the
band on many subsequent occasions for the rest
of his career. He worked as musical director for
such artists as Redd Foxx and Joe Williams, and collabo-
rated with other soloists, such as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
and Oscar Peterson. Valued lor his superb sense; of dynam-
ics, he carved out a beautiful trumpet stylo noted for its sim-
plicity and good taste. He also found a home in film and
television soundtrack work.
NEA Jazz Masters 35
Born January 30, 191 1 in Pittsburgh, PA
Died February 26, 1989
ge
TRUMPETER PIANIST VOCALIST
Also known as "Little Jazz," Roy Eldridge was a fiery,
energetic trumpeter, the bridge between the towering
trumpet stylists Louis Armstrong and Dizzy
Gillespie. Some of the great rhythmic drive of Eldridge's
later trumpet exploits could be traced to his beginnings on
the drums, which he began playing at age six.
Eldridge's older brother Joe, who played alto saxo
phone, was his first teacher.
In 1930, Eldridge moved to New York,
heading straight to Harlem where he
gained work with a number of dance
hands before joining the Teddy Hill
band Fi\ 1'Ki5, Eldridge and saxophon
isl Qui Berry (who would later join the
Count Basie Orchestra] were Hill's prin-
i ip.il soloists, and .liter gigs they would
mnd town on cutting contests, chal-
ians to see who could play
with his Lightning speed and awe-
Idridge rarely lost. After Hill's
ame the lead trumpeter in the
on Orchestra, where his upper register
M didn't lake long lor Eldridge to
iftei freelancing with a wide
I iM.tic e as one of the swing
^ D,SCOG v
bands' most potent soloists. In 1941, he joined drummer
Gene Krupa's band. Not only did he provide trumpet fire-
works for Krupa's outfit, he also sang, recording a memo-
rable duet with the band's female singer, Anita O'Day. on
the tune "Let Me Off Uptown" in 1941. Later, after Krupa's
band disbanded in 1943 and a period of freelancing, he
toured with the Artie Shaw band in 1944. Then
After You've Gone,
GRP/Decca, 1936-46
Little Jan: The Best of the Verve Years.
Verve, 1951-60
IK
.,Vc
Roy and D/z, Verve, 1954
Just You Just Me.
Stash, 1959
Montreux 77.
Original Jazz Classics. 1977
idei forming his own octel in 1936
luded his brother foe.
Eldridge led his own bands, usually small
swing groups.
In 1948, Norman Granz recruited
Eldridge for his Jazz at the Philharmonic,
an ideal situation since Eldridge was one
of the ultimate jam session trumpeters.
He toured briefly with Benny Goodman
and took up residence in Paris in 1950.
where he made some of his most suc-
cessful recordings. He returned to New
York in 1951 and continued freelancing
with small bands, including work with
Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter. Ella
Fitzgerald, and Johnny Hodges. He made notable
albums for Verve Records alongside Hawkins and con-
tinued freelancing and leading a house band at Jimmy
Ryan's club in New York. A stroke in 1980 stopped him
from playing the trumpet, but Eldridge continued to make
music as a singer and pianist until his death in 1989.
36 NKA .1.:
bi
PIANIST COMPOSER ARRANGER BANDLEADER
vans
Born May 13, 1912 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died March 20, 1988
As an arranger, Gil Evans has few peers in jazz his-
tory. His style is instantly recognizable, often using
unusual brass colorations for jazz, such as combi-
nations of tuba and French horn. Arranging started
early for Evans, leading his own band when he
was 16 and taking piano gigs at local hotels.
In junior college, he and Ned Briggs joined
forces to lead a 10-piece band modeled
after the popular Casa Loma Band. The
band was the house band at the
Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach,
California, where they remained for two
years, up until 1937.
In 1937, singer Skinny Ennis took over
leadership of the band, retaining Evans as
pianist and arranger as they moved to
Hollywood, where they were regularly featured
on the Bob Hope radio show. In 1941, Claude
Thornhill, who had been associated with the Hope
show, hired Evans as an arranger for his first orchestra,
which lasted for seven years. Evans was influenced by
Thornbill's unusual voicings, particularly for brass and
woodwinds.
Evans settled permanently in New York in 1947 and his
unusual arrangements for Thornhill began to attract the
attention of some of the nascent beboppers of the; tinii!.
including Miles Davis, John Lewis, and (Jerry Mulligan.
It was around this time that Evans' apartment became a
meeting ground for these and other musicians seeking fresh
^"■"""X
approaches. These musical and conversational exchanges
led to the recording of Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool session
for Capitol Records. That album was marked by its
cooler, less bustling tempos than was characteristic
Miles Davis, Sketches of Spain,
Columbia, 1959-60
Out of the Cool,
Impulse!, 1960
The Individualism of Gil Evans,
Verve, 1963-64
Svengali, Atlantic, 1973
Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music
of Jimi Hendrix, Bluebird,
1974-75
of bebop, the modern jazz of the day. Several
Evans arrangements stood out, especially
"Moondreams" and "Boplicity."
Evans spent much of the 1950s as a
freelance arranger, until 1957 when he
began working with Davis on the first of
their four collaborations, Miles Ahead,
featuring Davis on flugelhorn as the
only soloist, an unusual arrangement in
jazz at the time. Over the next few years,
Evans and Davis worked together on
Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain and
Quiet Nights.
In the 1960s, Evans began making his own
recordings, displaying his unusual voicings and
distinctive settings for some of the best soloists of the time,
such as Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter, and Eric Dolphy. In the
1970s, Evans began exploring the music of Jimi Hendrix and
taking on some of the accoutrements usually associated with
rock music, including guitars, synthesizers, and electric
bass. In the 1980s, his shifting cast of exceptional soloists
included Billy Harper, George Adams, Howard Johnson,
John Scofield, and David Sanborn, and Evans would have
occasional weekly shows at New York clubs such as the
Village' Vanguard and Sweet Basil.
NEA Jazz Masters 37
armer
TRUMPETER FLUGELHORNIST FLUMPETER
Bom August 21, 1928 in Council Bluffs. IA
Died October 4. 1999
One of the more lyrical of the post-bop musicians. Art
Farmer helped to popularize the flugelhorn in jazz.
He switched to a hybrid instrument known as the
flumpet later in his career, an instrument that combined the
power of the trumpet with the warmth of the flugelhorn.
He and his late twin brother, bassist Addison Farmer,
were raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Farmer took up the piano,
violin, and tuba before settling on the trumpet at 14. He
Inter moved to Los Angeles and worked with Horace
Henderson, and Floyd Ray, eventually travel-
ing east to New York with the Johnny
Otis Revue in 1947. In New York, he
studied with Maurice Grupp and
freelanced in the clubs. In 1948
be returned to the West Coast
and found work with Benny
Carter, Gerald Wilson. Roy
Porter, lay McShann, and
trough 1952. He
ad W ith Lionel Hampton in
ii to
the tour.
be intermit-
Hi Silvei
•'i. with whom
he appeared in two films: J Want to Live and The Subter-
raneans. Farmer's performances with the various groups
earned him a reputation for being able to play in any style.
In 1959, he and Benny Golson formed the Jazztet, whose
first incarnation lasted until 1962. The Jazztet's tightly
arranged music defined mainstream jazz for several years.
Farmer switched to the flugelhorn in the early 1960s, finding
a rounder, mellower sound with the instrument, and
co-led a band with guitarist Jim Hall until 1964. He worked
in Europe from 1965-66, and when he returned stateside
he again co-led a band, this time with Jimmy Heath. In
1968 he moved to Vienna, joined the Austrian Radio
Orchestra, and worked with such European outfits
as the Clarke-Boland Big Band, and Peter
Herbolzheimer. He toured Europe and Asia
with Jimmy Smith's band in 1972, and his
appearances in the U.S. became rarities.
In 1982, Farmer and Golson re-formed the
Jazztet for a short while. Otherwise his perform-
ances in the U.S. were on an annual basis.
For a time he teamed up with yet another saxo-
phonist. Clifford Jordan, for annual New York
visits. He continued to lead his own bands on
occasion, particularly at festival time. In 1991, he
began employing the flumpet, specially designed for
When Farmer Met Gryce.
Original Jazz Classics. 1954-55
Meet the Jazztet. MCA/Chess, 1960
Live at tnaMall Note.
Atlanta 1963
Blame It on my Youth,
Contemporary. 1 988
Silk Road. Arabesque. 1996
Farmer b\ David Monette.
38 NKA.I.
I
^
v*
to
*
VOCALIST
itzger;
Born April 25, 1917 in Newport News, VA
Died June 15, 1996
It is quite apropos that Ella Fitzgerald was the first vocalist
recipient of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, as she is
considered by most people to be the quintessential jazz
singer. The purity of her range and intonation, along with
her peerless sense of pitch, made her a signature singer. In
addition, her scat singing, using the technique of a master
instrumental improviser, was her hallmark. These
4?
characteristics make her an enduring purveyor
not only of jazz and the art of improvising,
but also of the classic American songbook.
Fitzgerald was raised in Yonkers, New
York, and her first artistic proclivities
were as a dancer, even though she sang
with her school glee club. At 17, she
entered the famous amateur show com-
petition at the Apollo Theatre, which led
to her being hired as a singer for Chick
Webb's orchestra. She soon became a pop-
ular attraction at the Savoy, and Fitzgerald
recorded her first song, "Love and Kisses,"
with Webb in June 1935. Three years of steady
work later, she had her first major hit with her
rendition of "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." That lightweight
ditty remained a popular request throughout Fitzgerald's
ensuing decades.
When Chick Webb died in 1939, Fitzgerald assumed
leadership of the band for the next two years, beginning her
solo career. In 1946 she began an enduring relationship
(jtfi D DISCOo^
with producer Norman Granz, becoming part of his Jazz at
the Philharmonic concert tours. At the time her regular trio
leader was bassist Ray Brown, to whom she was married
from 1947 to 1953. By 1955, Granz had become her man-
ager and had begun recording Fitzgerald for his Verve label.
This affiliation led to her recording with numerous
greats, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington,
M
''.
>
75th Birthday Celebration,
GRP, 1938-55
The Complete Ella Fitzgerald
& Louis Armstrong on Verve, Verve, 1 956-57
Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook,
Verve, 1956-57
The Complete Ella in Berlin, Verve, 1960-61
Montreux '77,
Original Jazz Classics, 1977
Count Basie, and Oscar Peterson. Among the
landmark recordings she made with Granz
were her historic songbook treatments
of the music of Ellington, Cole Porter,
Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Richard
Rodgers & Lorenz Hart, Harold
Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and Ira and
George Gershwin.
Fitzgerald's superb intonation and
crystal clear voice was also blessed with
a rhythmic flexibility to effortlessly swing.
Though she came up in the swing era,
Fitzgerald also could hang with the best of
the beboppers. Her ability to scat with the
most skilled instrumentalists served her well on such
notable voice-as-instrument hits as "Lady Be Good," "Flying
Home," and "How I ligh The Moon." Each became enduring
parts of her repertoire. She forged memorable partnerships
with her piano accompanists, most notably Tommy
Flanagan and Paul Smith.
NEA Jazz Masters 39
lanagan
PIANIST
Born March 16, 1930 in Detroit,
Died November 16, 2001
Tommy Flanagan was noted as both a stimulating
accompanist and a superb small ensemble leader,
p hiving with some of the biggest names in jazz. A
product of a noteworthy arts education system in the Detroit
public schools, he began his musical pursuits on clarinet at
six years old, switching to the piano at age 11. At 15, he
made his professional debut. Thereafter he performed with
fellow Detroiters Milt Jackson. Rudy Rutherford, Billv
\1il( hell, Kenny Burrell, and Thad and Elvin Jones as
part ol the fertile Detroit jazz scene in the 1950s.
I lanagan moved to New York in 1956, securing his first
job as .i replai < mint lor Bud Powell at Birdland. Powell,
along with Ail Tatum and Nal "King" Cole, was a major
influeni e on Flanagan's playing,
Throughout the 1950s, lie worked
with many of the biggest names
in jazz, including J.J. Johnson.
Miles Davis Marry "Sweets"
^cscoo^
l (Iimiii Sonny Rollins.
Jim
Thelonica,
Enja, 1982
Beyond the Bluebird.
TimelesjL 1990
G/anf StepSnja, 1992
Let's Play the Music of Thad Jones,
Enja. 1993
Lady Be Good... For Ella,
Verve. 1994
Hall, and Tony Bennett, playing on some of the landmark
recordings of that decade. One of his most significant
recordings was with John Coltrane on the wildly influential
recording. Giant Steps. His playing on the complex title
track, using space between the notes to contrast Coltrane's
rapid-fire attack, was especially inspired.
He also met and began performing with Ella Fitzgerald.
an association that lasted until the end of the 1970s, his trio
touring exclusively with her from 1968-78. After leaving
Ella Fitzgerald in 1978, some of his best, most compelling
work was in the trio format, with George Mraz on bass and
Elvin Jones or Lewis Nash on drums. Influenced by the
playing and arrangements of Duke Ellington and Thelonious
Monk. Flanagan's lyrical playing and harmonic sophistica-
tion placed him. in die top echelon of jazz pianists. He was
an especially tasteful interpreter of Billy Strayhorn, Thad
Jones, and Tadd Dameron's music. Flanagan was a
multiple jazz poll winner, and in 1992 was recipient
of the prestigious Danish Jazzpar prize.
40 NKA .1
SAXOPHONIST COMPOSER ARRANGER BANDLEADER EDUCATOR
oster
Born September 23, 1928 in Cincinnati, OH
Although best known for his work in the Count Basie
Orchestra (and as the composer of the Count Basie
hit, "Shiny Stockings"), Frank Foster's saxophone
playing owes more to the bebop of Charlie Parker and
Sonny Stitt than the swing of Basie.
Foster began playing clarinet at 11 years old before tak-
ing up the alto saxophone and eventually the tenor. By the
time he was a senior in high school, he was leading and
writing the arrangements for a 12-piece band. Foster stud-
ied at Wilberforce University in Ohio before heading to
Detroit in 1949 with trumpeter Snooky Young for six weeks,
becoming captivated by its burgeoning music scene. Drafted
into the Army, Foster left Detroit and headed off to basic
training near San Francisco, where he would jam in the
evenings at Jimbo's Bop City.
After being discharged in 1953, two life-changing events
happened to Foster: he sat in with Charlie Parker at
Birdland and he was asked to join Count Basie's band,
where he stayed until 1964. Foster's fiery solos contrasted
nicely with Frank Wess' ballad work, providing Basie with
an interesting contrast. Foster, already an accomplished
composer by this time, learned from Basie how to simplify
arrangements to make the music swing. He soon was pro-
viding compositions and arrangements for the band ("Blues
Backstage," "Down for the Count," the entire Easin' It alburn
just to name a few), with his most popular number being
"Shiny Stockings." He also was an extremely successful
freelance writer, creating a large body of work for jazz,
including works contributed to albums by singers Sarah
Vaughan and Frank Sinatra, and a commissioned work for
the 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid Suite, written for
jazz orchestra.
In the 1970s, Foster played with contemporary musi-
cians such as Elvin Jones, George Coleman, and Joe Farrell
and began expanding his compositions. He led his own
band, the Loud Minority, until
1986 when he assumed leader-
ship of the Count Basie
*$D DISCOgc,
Orchestra from Thad
Jones. While playing the
favorites, Foster also
began introducing orig-
inal material into the
playlist. Foster
resigned as the musical
director of the orchestra
in 1995 and began
recording albums again.
In addition to performing,
Foster has also served as a
musical consultant in the New York
City public schools and taught at Queens College and
the Slate University of New York at Buffalo.
Count Basie, Verve Jazz Masters,
Verve, 1954-65
No Count, Savoy, 1956
Fearless,
Original Jazz Classics. 1965
Shiny Stockings, Denon, 1977-78
Leo Rising,
Arabesque, 1996
NEA Jazz Mastei-s 4 1
•>
ohnBirkS
Gillespie
Born October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, SC
Died January 6, 1993
Dizzy Gillespie's effect on jazz cannot be overstated:
his trumpet playing influenced every player who
came after him, his compositions have become part
of the jazz canon, and his bands have included some of
the most significant names in the business. He was also,
along with Charlie Parker, one of the major leaders of the
bebop movement
Gillespie's father was an amateur bandleader who,
although dead by the time Gillespie was ten, had given his
son some of his earliest grounding in music. Gillespie
began playing trumpet at 14 after briefly trying the trom-
bone, and his first formal musical training came at the;
Lauiinburg Institute in North Carolina.
Gillespie's earliest professional jobs were with the
I i.mkie Fairfax band, where Ik; reportedly picked up the
nickname I )i//\ related to his outlandish antics. His earli-
infruence was Roy Eldridge, who he later replaced in
Teddj Hill's hand. From 1<).'!<)-4I. Gillespie was one of the
prini ipal suluists in Cab Calloway's hand, until he was dis-
■ notorious bandstand prank. It was while with
• it In- met the Cuban trumpeter Mario Bauza,
in d i greal interest in Afro-Cuban
thru time he also befriended Charlie Parker.
Jd !■ in to develop some ol the
bile sitting in at Minion's
tlani ed with a number of big
I Btha" Mines. Ilines' hand < on
espie would interact with in the
TRUMPETER COMPOSER BANDLEADER
^DD**^
The Complete RCA Victor Recordings\
1937-1949, Bluebird, 1937-49
Dizzy's Diamonds. Verve, 1 954-64
Birk's Works: Verve Big Band Sessions
Verve, 1956-57
Gillespiana/Camegie Hall Concert,
Verve, 1960-61
Max + Dizzy. Paris 1989,
A&M, 1989
development of bebop, such as
singer Billy Ecksrine, who
formed his own band featuring
Gillespie on trumpet in 1944.
1945 was a crucial year for
both bebop and Gillespie. He
recorded with Parker many of
his small ensemble hits, such as
"Salt Peanuts," and formed his own
bebop big band. Despite economic woes,
he was eventually able to keep this band together for
four years. His trumpet playing was at a peak, with
rapid-fire attacks of notes and an amazing harmonic range.
A number of future greats performed with Gillespie's big
band, including saxophonists Gene Amnions, Yusef Lateef.
Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Heath. James Moody, and John
Coltrane. The rhythm section of John Lewis, Milt Jackson.
Kenny Clarke, and Ray Brown became the original
Modern Jazz Quartet.
He took various bands on State Department tours around
the world starting in 1956, the first time the U.S. govern-
ment provided economic aid and recognition to jazz. Those
excursions not only kept Gillespie working, they also stimu-
lated his musical interests as he began incorporating differ-
ent ethnic elements into his music, such as the Afro-Cuban
rhythms he weaved into his big band arrangements. Ne\ ar
losing his thirst for collaboration, Gillespie worked with a
variety of jazz stars as well as leading his own small groups
on into the 1980s.
.
SAXOPHONIST COMPOSER ARRANGER EDUCATOR
Golson
Born January 25, 1929 in Philadelphia, PA
Benny Golson is as renowned for his distinctive
compositions and arrangements as for his innovative
tenor saxophone playing. Major cornerstones of his
career have included not only notable additions to the jazz
canon, but also included his work in film and television
studios, and in education.
Golson began on the piano, at age nine, moving to the
saxophone at age 14. He earned a degree from Howard
University, then joined Bull Moose Jackson's band in 1951.
Arranging and composing became a serious pursuit for
him at the early encouragement of composer-
4>
T$D DISCOo^
arranger Tadd Dameron, who he met
in Jackson's band. Other early band
affiliations included Lionel Hampton,
Johnny Hodges, and Earl Bostic.
He toured with the Dizzy Gillespie
big band from 1956-58, then joined
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. His
robust playing added extra kick to
the band, and his solo on Bobby
Timmons' song "Moanin"' is a
classic. With the Messengers,
Golson 's writing skills blossomed as
he contributed pieces for the band that
have forever entered the jazz canon,
including "Along Game Betty," "Blues March,"
"I Remember Clifford" (written upon the death of his Erieni
Clifford Brown), "Killer Joe" (which later became a hit for
Quincy Jones), and "An; You Real?"
After leaving the Messengers, he and Art Fanner formed
the hard bop quintet known as the Jazztet. The original
incarnation of the Jazztet lasted from 1959-62. In 1963, he
moved to California and began to concentrate on composing
and arranging. He scored music for European and American
television and films, and essentially discontinued touring
until 1982, when he and Farmer revived the Jazztet briefly.
Thereafter he played more frequently, working in all-star
aggregations, and completing commissioned assignments,
such as an original orchestral work for the 100th anniversary
of the Juilliard School of Music in 2005. His soundtrack
credits include M*A*S*H, Mission Impossible, Mod
M
'',,
Benny Golson's New York Scene,
Original Jazz Classics, 1957
Up Jumped Benny, Arkadia Jazz, 1986
Tenor Legacy, Arkadia Jazz, 1996
One Day Forever, Arkadia, 1996-2000
Terminal 1, Concord Jazz, 2004
Squad, and Ironside.
In 1987, Golson participated in a U.S.
State Department tour of Southeast Asia, New
Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, and
Singapore. As a tribute to Art Blakey, Golson
organized the "Jazz Messengers — A Legacy to
Art Blakey" tour of the U.S., Europe, and
Japan from 1998 to 2000.
As an educator he has Lectured, given
clinics, and performed extended residencies at
New York University, Stanford University.
University of Pittsburgh, Cuyahoga Community
College, Rutgers University, William Paterson College,
and Herklee College of Music. Among his awards is a 1994
Guggenheim Fellowship. Currently, be is putting the finish-
ing touches on two hooks: a major college textbook and his
autobiography, which will be published in late 2005 by
Ihboh Music. Inc.
NEA Jazz Masters 43
SAXOPHONIST
Born February 27, 1923 in Los Angeles, CA
Died April 25, 1990
Dexter Gordon was one of the leading bebop tenor
saxophonists, with his near-vibratoless sound and
prodigious ability to improvise. He was a strong
intluence on the tenor saxophonists who came after bebop,
especially Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane.
Gordon took up the clarinet at age 13, switching to the
saxophone at 15. His first formal teacher was Lloyd
a series of classic two-tenor duels, including their classic
recording of "The Chase." Continuing to freelance through-
out the 1950s, he began touring Europe as a soloist in the
early 1960s to acclaim, eventually settling in Copenhagen
in 1962.
Gordon continued to play in Europe as a soloist, making
a series of recordings for the Danish label
Reese, who had other notable students, including Steeplechase. He added the soprano sax to his
Charles Mi ngus and Buddy Collette, with <&$> ^&. arsenal in the earlv 1970s. During a trip back
Mingi
whom Cordon interacted in Reese's student
band Cordon left school in 1940 and
joined .i Local hand before taking a posi-
tion with the Lionel Hampton band from
1940-43, (lilting his first recordings with
the hand in 1942. Hack home in Los
Angeles. Cordon played with Lee Young
(brother ol Lester) and [esse Price, and
made .i subsequent record with Nat
"kii ii the piano.
in to garner attention when
New York in 1944 to join the Billy
bestra. He recorded with Eckstine and
i din fbi the Savoy label. Through the
QS, h^ played and recorded with the
| MK h .is Charlie Parker. Dizzy
Gillespie ron. Between 1947 and 1952, he
ti doi Baxophonisl WardeL Graj lor
Dexter Gordon on Dial:
The Complete Sessions, Spotlite, 1947
Doin' Alright, Blue Note, 1961
Go!, Blue Note, 1962
Something Different, Steeplechase, 1975
Great Encounters, Columbia, 1978
g a trip
to the States in 1976, he took a gig at the
Village Vanguard and die response to his
plaving was overwhelming. He found
willing partners in several musicians of
a younger generation, including trum-
peter Woody Shaw. The response
prompted him to return permanently to
the U.S., where he made a series of well-
received records for the Columbia label.
Included was a notable return to his two-
tenor battle days, diis time with fellow
expatriate Johnny Griffin.
The culmination of the decade-long renewal of
interest in Gordon was his starring role in the film 'Round
Midnight, which garnered an Oscar nomination. Thereafter,
until felled by ill health, he continued to tour with his own
potent quartets and returned to his former record label. Blue
Note, lor a briei Mini following his film success.
44 NKA .1
icop
/
ICO
|H
GUITARIST COMPOSER
tm
I
Born December 4, 1930 in Buffalo, NY
&
Iazz guitarist Jim Hall's technique has been called subtle
his sound mellow, and his compositions understated;
yet his recording and playing history is anything but
modest. He has recorded with artists ranging from
Bill Evans to Itzhak Perlman and performed
alongside most of the jazz greats of the 20th
century. The first of the modern jazz gui-
tarists to receive an NEA Jazz Masters
award, his prowess on the instrument
puts him in the company of Charlie
Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Django
Reinhardt.
After graduating from the Cleveland
Institute of Music, Hall became an origi-
nal member of the Chico Hamilton
Quintet in 1955 and of the Jimmy Giuffre 3
the following year — both small but musi-
cally vital ensembles of the era. Hall contin-
ued to hone his craft on Ella Fitzgerald's South
American tour in 1960, a fruitful time in which his
exposure to hossa nova greatly influenced his subsequent
work. From there, he joined Sonny Rollins' quartet from
1961-62, and appears on The Bridge, Rollins' first recording
in three years after a self-imposed retirement The interplay
between Rollins' fiery solos and Hall's classic guitar runs
make this one of jazz's most essential recordings.
>
Hall then co-led a quartet with Art Farmer, recorded a
series of duets with noted saxophonist Paul Desmond, and
performed as a session musician on numerous recordings.
His extensive ensemble experience has produced a con-
trol of rhythm and harmony so that Hall's playing,
while grounded in scholarly technique and sci-
ence, sounds both rich and free.
He eventually formed his own trio in
1965, which still performs and records
today. Well-studied in classical compo-
sition, Hall has produced many original
pieces for various jazz orchestral ensem-
bles. His composition for jazz quartet,
"Quartet Plus Four," earned him the
Jazzpar Prize in Denmark. His influence
on jazz guitarists, including such disparate
ones as Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, is
immense. Hall continues to explore new
avenues of music, even appearing on saxophonist
Greg Osby's 2000 recording. Invisible Hand, with leg-
endary pianist Andrew Hill. He; also has worked in smaller
settings as well, often in duets with jazz greats such as
pianists Bill Evans and Red Mitchell, and bassists Ron
Carter and Charlie Haden. In addition to numerous Grammy
nominations, Ilall has been awarded the New York Jazz
Critics Circle Award for Best Jazz Composer/Arranger.
Jimmy Giuffre 3, Trav'lin' Light,
Atlantic, 1958
Sonny Rollins, The Bridge, RCA, 1962
Ron Carter and Jim Hall,
Live at Village West, Concord, 1982
Something Special, Music Masters, 1 993
Grand Slam: Live at the Regattabar,
Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Telarc, 2000
NEA Jazz Masters 45
c/)
Foreststorn
Born September 21, 1921 in Los Angeles, CA
PERCUSSIONIST BANDLEADER COMPOSER EDUCATOR
Chico Hamilton is almost as well known for his band
leadership and ability to discover talented newcom-
ers as for his subtle, creative drumming. As a
teenager growing up in Los Angeles, Hamilton started play
ing regularly for the first time with a band that included
classmates Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon, and
Illinois facquet. He made his recording debut
with Slim Gaillard, and studied drumming
u itli jazz great Jo Jones during his mili-
tarj sen i( e from 1042-46.
After working briefly with Jimmy
Mundy, Count Basic and Lester Young.
I [amilton joined Lena I tome's band in
i')4a. staying with her on and off for
si\ years, in< luding a tour ol Europe.
I hiring this time, he also became an orig-
member of the Legendary Gerry
Mulligan Quartet, whi< h ini luded
Mull, i Baker, and Boh Whitlock.
ordingwith them for three years
the Pai ifii [azz Libel. Hamilton go1 his
idleader.
In 1955, he formed the Chico Hamilton Quintet, utilizing
ol instruments: < ello, flute, guitar,
i the important West Coast bunds.
< ii film debut in the movie The
U .is highlighting In// on a
■•it the 1958 Newport Jazz
nd started In 1962 with Albeit
^DISCOO^
Stinson on bass, Gabor Szabo on guitar, Charles Lloyd on
tenor sax and flute, and George Bohanon on trombone,
bringing a fresh, new sound to jazz once again. Over the
vears, Hamilton's bands have had various personnel, but the
quality of the musicianship has remained high. Some of
the players who Hamilton nurtured in his bands
Complete Pacific Jan Recordings of the
Chico Hamilton Quintet, Mosaic, 1955-59
Man From Two Worlds, Impulse!, 1962
Dancing to a Different Drummer,
Soul Note, 1993
Foreststorn. Koch, 2000-01
Thoughts of. ... Koch, 2002
include Jim Hall, Eric Dolphy, Ron Carter,
Arthur Blythe, Larry Coryell, and John
Abercrombie.
During the 1960s, Hamilton formed a
company to score feature films and com-
mercials for television and radio. In 1987.
Hamilton was on the originating faculty
at Parsons New School of Jazz in New
York. During the same year, he formed a
new quartet called Euphoria, and began
touring in Europe. The quartet met with
great popularity, and in 1992. their album
Arroyo placed in the Jazz Album of the Year
category in the Douti Beat Reader's Poll. In 1995. a
documentary of Hamilton's extraordinary life and career,
Dancing to a Different Drummer, directed by Julian Benedict.
was presented twice on the French-German Arts Network.
ARI'E. In June 1999, Hamilton received a Beacons of Jazz
award from the Mamies College of Music at the New School
University in New York City, where he is presently teaching.
1 le is working on his autobiography and will be releasing
four new albums in 2006 in celebration of his 85th birthdav.
46 NKA .1.
VIBIST DRUMMER PIANIST VOCALIST BANDLEADER
Hampton
Born April 20, 1908 in Louisville, KY
Died September 30, 2002
Featuring outstanding sideman and soloists, as well as
his own swinging vibe playing, Lionel Hampton's
bands during the 1940s and 1950s were among the
most popular and most exciting in jazz. Hampton was
raised in the Midwest, primarily in Kenosha, Wisconsin,
where he received his first musical training. His career
began behind the drums, taking his first music job in a
newsboys band sponsored by the Chicago Defender.
In 1928, Hampton moved west to California, landing
first in the Paul Howard Orchestra, later working with band-
leaders Eddie Barefield and Les Hite. In 1929 he took up
the vibraphone with the Hite band, which at the time was
led by Louis Armstrong, becoming a pioneering figure in the
use of vibes in a jazz band.
Hampton made his recorded debut on an Armstrong ver-
sion of "Memories of You" in 1930. By 1934, Hampton had
become leader of his own band, performing at Sebastian's
Cotton Club in Los Angeles. Benny Goodman saw Hampton
perform at one of his gigs and recruited him to augment his
trio, with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa, for a 1936 record-
ing date. Hampton remained in Goodman's band through
1940, occasionally replacing Krupa on the drums. Hampton
became well known with the Goodman band, and started
his own big band, achieving his biggest recorded hit with
"Flying Home" in May 1942, driven by Illinois Jacquet's
unforgettable tenor saxophone solo.
Hampton's popular big band boasted such potent musi-
cians as Dexter Gordon, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro,
The Complete Lionel Hampton,
Bluebird, 1937-39
Hamp: The Legendary Decca Recordings,
Decca, 1942-63
Hamp and Geti, Verve, 1 956
Reunion at Newport,
Bluebird, 1967
Made in Japan, Timeless, 1982
Johnny Griffin, Charles Mingus
Art Farmer, Clark Terry, Cat
Anderson, Wes Montgomery,
and singers Dinah
Washington, Joe Williams,
Betty Carter, and Aretha
Franklin. He toured the
globe and continued to
nurture young talent,
often providing some
of the earliest band experi-
ences to musicians who
went on to become leaders
in their own right. His band
became the longest established
orchestra in jazz history.
Lionel Hampton received numerous awards of merit,
including several honorary doctoral degrees, the National
Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honors. His diligent
work with the jazz festival at the University of Idaho in
Moscow led to it being renamed the Lionel Hampton Jazz
Festival in 1985. The university's music department shortly
followed suit and became the; Lionel Hampton School of
Music. Winner of numerous polls, Lionel Hampton had
been an honored soloist into the 1990s, performing in
numerous festivals as part of all-star assemblages. In 2001,
he donated his vibraphone to tin; Smithsonian Institution.
NEA Jazz Masters 47
TROMBONIST ARRANGER COMPOSER EDUCATOR
Born April 21, 1932 in Jeannette, PA
Slide Hampton's distinguished career spans decades in
the evolution of jazz. At the age of 12 he was already
touring the Midwest with the Indianapolis-based
Hampton Band, led by his fadier and comprising other
members of his musical family. By 1952. at the age of 20,
he was performing at Carnegie Hall with the Lionel
Hampton Band. He then joined Maynard Ferguson's band,
playing trombone and providing
exciting charts on such popular
tunes as "The Fugue," "Three
Little Foxes," and "Slide's
Derangement."
As his reputation
grew, he soon began
working with bands led
by Art Blakey. Dizzy
Gillespie, Barry Harris,
Thad Jones. Mel Lewis,
and Max Roach, again
i ontributing both original
( (impositions and arrange-
ments. In 1062. he formed the
Slide Hampton Octet, which
Slide Hampton and His Horn of Plenty,
Strand. 1959
World of Trombon,
201 Music, 1979
Roots. CnssTjross, 1985
5^r<
Dedicated to Diz. Telarc, 1993
Spirit of the Horn. MCG Jazz, 2003
included stellar horn players Booker Little, Freddie
Hubbard, and George Coleman. The band toured the U.S.
and Europe and recorded on several labels.
From 1964 to 1967, he served as music director for vari-
ous orchestras and artists. Then, following a 1968 tour with
Woody Herman, he elected to stay in Europe, performing
with other expatriates such as Benny Bailey. Kenny Clarke.
Kenny Drew, Art Farmer, and Dexter Gordon. Upon return-
ing to the U.S. in 1977, he began a series of master classes at
Harvard, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, De
Paul University in Chicago, and Indiana University. During
this period he formed the illustrious World of Trombones:
an ensemble of nine trombones and a rhythm section.
In 1989, with Paquito D'Rivera. he was musical director
of Dizzy's Diamond Jubilee, a year-long series of celebrations
honoring Dizzy Gillespie's 75th birthday. Slide Hampton's
countless collaborations with the most prominent musicians
of jazz were acknowledged by the 1998 Grammy Award for
Best Jazz Arrangement with a Vocalist. Most recently, he
has served as musical advisor to the Carnegie Hall Jazz
Band. A charismatic figure, master arranger, and formidable
trombonist. Slide Hampton holds a place of distinction in
the jazz tradition.
48 NEA Jazz M.i.
KEYBOARDIST COMPOSER
Hancock
Born April 12, 1940 in Chicago, IL
Herbie Hancock's talent as a pianist was evident
when, at age 11, he performed Mozart's D Major
Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra. He began playing jazz in high school, initially
influenced by Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. Also at this
time, a passion for electronic science also began to develop,
so Hancock studied both electrical engineering and music
composition at Grinnell College in Iowa. His love of elec-
tronics led Hancock to be a pioneer in the use of electric
piano, clavinet, and synthesizer in jazz.
In 1961, trumpeter Donald Byrd asked the young pianist
to join his group in New York, leading to Blue Note offering
him a recording contract. His first album as leader, Takin'
Off, which included the hit single, "Watermelon Man,"
demonstrated a gift for composition and improvisation.
His talent impressed Miles Davis enough to ask
Hancock to join his band in 1963. In the five
years he worked with Davis, who became a
mentor as well as an employer, Hancock
established his standing as one of the
greatest pianists of all time. Along with
Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams
(drums), Hancock altered the role of
the rhythm section in jazz to include
expanded solos and spontaneous
changes in mood and tempo. He also
composed a number ol pieces lor the
^ D D,SCOO V
The Complete Blue Note Sixties
Sessions, Blue Note, 1962-69
Head Hunters, Columbia, 1973
1/S.OP, Columbia. 1977
Village Life, Columbia, 1985
Gershwin's World, Verve, 1998
band as well as for his outstanding solo recordings with Blue
Note. It was toward the end of his tenure with Davis that he
began to use electric piano.
After leaving the band in 1968, Hancock continued to
explore the use of electronic instruments in his music.
In 1973, he formed a quartet whose first recording, Head
Hunters, launched him into jazz stardom and became a
best-selling jazz album. In the late 1970s, Hancock revived
the old Miles Davis band (Freddie Hubbard stood in for
Davis) under the name V.S.O.P. and they toured extensively.
Throughout his career, he has demonstrated stunning
artistic versatility, and in 1983, "Rockit," a single that
resulted from a collaborative effort with the rock band
Material, became a hit on MTV. Hancock then switched
gears completely, partnering with Gambian kora virtuoso
Foday Musa Suso that culminated in two albums,
Village Life and fax/, Africa. He also has written
scores for several films, including Blow-Up in
1966, Death Wish in 1974, and 'Round
Midnight, for which he won an Academy
Award in 1987. Hancock has won eight
Grammy Awards in the past two decades,
and continues to work as a producer and
in both the electric and acoustic spheres
of jazz.
NEA Jazz Mastei-s 49
41 !
i:
arry
s
PIANIST COMPOSER ARRANGER EDUCATOR
Born December 15, 1929 in Detroit,
Barn' Harris is part of an exceptional crew of Detroit-
bred jazz musicians, including Tommy Flanagan and
Donald Byrd, who rose through the extraordinary arts
education program in the public school system during the
1930s and 1940s. Harris' earliest musical mentor was a
church piano-playing mother who exposed him to piano
lessons at age four. He became seriously immersed in jazz
in the mid-1940s and fell under the spell of Thelonious
Monk. Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell. As a professional,
be would become a key translator of Monk's music.
Detroit was blessed with a high-energy jazz scene during
tlic 1940s, and Harris was house pianist at one of the hottest
spots, the Blue Bird Lounge. At the Blue Bird and
later it the Rouge, he backed such traveling
soloists .is Miles Davis. YVardell Gray. Max
Roach. Sonnj Stitt, Lee Konitz, and Lester
Young. Displaying an early interest in
passing the torch through education,
l!.nr\ began teat bing his bebop theories
: a 1956, tutoring young talent
foe Henderson, it is a tradition
he has < arried on throughoul his life.
At the urging ol Julian "Cannonball"
II irris lefl Detroil in I960
York. In addition to
mil work in the 1960s
^D DISCOS
Chasin' The Bird,
Original Jazz Classics, 1962
Barry Harris Plays Tadd Dameron,
Classics, 1975
For The Moment,
Uptown, 1984
Live at Maybeck Recital Hall,
Vol. I & 2, Concord, 1990
and 1970s with fellow Detroiter Yusef Lateef. Charles
McPherson, and Coleman Hawkins. In addition to sideman
work, Harris led various trios and duos at piano bars and
restaurants around New York. He also began to get work as
an arranger and composer, showing a particular adeptness
for his treatment of strings. A consummate freelancer, he
found work in a variety of diverse settings and continues to
play, inaugurating the Lincoln Center's Penthouse piano
series in 1997.
By the early 1980s, Barn' Harris' acumen as a teacher
and mentor to developing pianists had become legendary.
He was able to expand these interests when he opened the
Jazz Cultural Center in 1982 on Eighth Avenue in
Manhattan. The Center served as workshop,
educational facility, and performance space
for Harris and his affiliated artists, but
unfortunately only lasted until 1987.
Harris soldiered on. though, continuing
to teach and mentor young musicians.
He also continues to present and pro-
duce annual multimedia concert spec-
taculars at places like Symphony Spat 8
and the Manhattan Center in New York.
Live in New York,
Reservoir, 2002
SO NEAJjizz. M;Lst<is
DRUMMER
,ynes
Bom March 13, 1925 in Roxbury, MA
Seemingly ageless, Roy Haynes has played the drums
from the bebop days of the 1940s to the present day
with the same restless energy. Haynes has remained
fresh in his outlook and in his thirst for collaborating with
younger artists and those who play in challenging styles,
as is shown in his work with such disparate artists
as Roland Kirk, Danilo Perez, and Pat Metheny.
He also has been a favorite sideman for any
number of artists because of his crisply
distinctive drumming style. Thelonious
Monk once described Haynes' drumming
as "an eight ball right in the side pocket."
Haynes became interested in music
through his father, a church organist. In
his earliest professional playing years in
the mid-1 940s, he worked in Boston with
pianist Sabby Lewis, Frankie Newton, and
Pete Brown. In 1945, he joined the Luis
Russell hand, remaining until 1947, where-
upon he joined Lester Young's band. In the
late 1940s to mid-1950s, he worked with such
greats as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and
Kai Winding. Ho later played in Monk's band at the
Five Spot Cafe before forming his own band in 1958.
Some of his most noted work in the early 1960s
came when he subbed for Llvin Jones in the John Coltrane
Quartet, both on gigs and on records. His drumming style
was a marked change for Coltrane from Elvin Jones'
approach — lighter, less aggressive than (ones — and it gave
We Three,
Original Jazz Classics, 1958
Out of the Afternoon,
Impulse!, 1962
TeVoul, Dreyfus, 1995
The Roy Haynes Trio,
Verve, 2000
Fountain of Youth,
Dreyfus Jazz, 2002
the quartet a different sound. Among his other affiliations
during the late 1950s to early 1960s were with George
Shearing, Kenny Burrell, Lennie Tristano, and Stan Getz.
In addition, his style of drumming was an ideal accompani-
ment to singers, accenting the vocals without overpowering
them, and he worked with Sarah Vaughan, and Lambert,
Hendricks & Ross.
He later joined vibist Gary Burton, who had
been a member of Getz 's band. After Burton's
band, which was one of the precursors
of the jazz-rock movement, Haynes
formed the Hip Ensemble, featuring
such musicians as George Adams, and
Hannibal Marvin Peterson. The band
had a decidedly contemporary flavor,
often employing various guitarists. He
also has enjoyed an occasional playing
relationship with Chick Corea, dating back
to their Stan Getz days. He joined Corea 's
rio Music band in 1981.
While periodically leading his own hands,
he has also worked with artists such as Billy Taylor,
Hank Jones, and Ted Curson, and as an innovative; drummer
in a variety of settings. His bands have included some of
the more exceptional young musicians on the scene, ranging
from his Hip Ensemble to bis various quartets. He continues
to influence the next generation of drummers with his
distinctive sound.
NEA Jazz Masters 51
•'**«
immy
eath
SAXOPHONIST FLUTIST COMPOSER ARRANGER EDUCATOR
Born October 25, 1926 in Philadelphia, PA
The second of the illustrious Heath Brothers to receive
an NEA Jazz Master Fellowship (bassist Percy
received the award in 2002), Jimmy was the first
Heath to choose music as a career path. Starting on alto sax-
ophone (and acquiring the nickname "Little Bird" due to the
influence Charlie "Yardbird" Parker had on his style), one of
his first professional jobs came in 1945-46 in the Midwest
territory band led by Nat Towles, out of Omaha, Nebraska.
Returning to Philadelphia, he briefly led his own big band
with a saxophone section that included John Coltrane and
Benny Golson — also products of the city's jazz scene. Gigs
followed with Howard McGhee in 1948 and with Dizzy
Gillespie's big band from 1949-50.
In the early 1950s, Heath switched to tenor sax and
briefly occupied Coltrane's place in
Miles Davis' band in 1959. In the
1960s, he began his own
recordings as a leader, and
frequent l\ trained up
with Milt (ackson and
\rt Fanner, Bj th.it
time he bad boned his
talent as •: i omposei
and arranger, creating
^PDISCOo^
Really Big!. Riverside/OJC, 1960
On the Trail. Riverside/OJC, 1964
The Gap 5ea/e/:wfcblestone, 1972
Little Man. Big Band. Verve, 1992
such widely performed compositions as "Gingerbread Boy"
and "C.T.A." By combining his versatile style of performing
and his outstanding writing and arranging abilities, he has
set a high standard of accomplishment in the jazz field. He
has made more than 100 recordings and composed more
than 100 original works.
As an educator. Heath has taught at Jazzmobile,
Housatonic Communitv College. Citv College of New York.
and Queens College, where he retired from full-time teach-
ing in 1998. He holds honorary degrees from Sojourner-
Douglass College and die Juilliard School, and has a
chair endowed in his name at Queens College. Currently,
he is serving on die board of the Thelonious Monk
Institute of Jazz.
Since the mid-1970s, Jimmy has been teaming up with
brothers Percy and Albert "Tootie" as the Headi Brothers, a
band which has also at times included contributions from
jimmy's son, die noted percussionist, composer, and
rhvthm-and-blues producer, Mtume. In addition, he has
performed with other jazz greats, such as Slide Hampton
and Wynton Marsalis, and indulged in his continuing
interest in the dynamics of arranging for big band.
He remains active as an educator, saxophonist.
and composer.
Heath Brothers,
Jazz Family. Concord,
998
52 NEA Jazz Masters
Perc
BASSIST
Heath
Bom April 30, 1923 in Wilmington, NC
Died April 28, 2005
Percy Heath was the backbone of the popular jazz
group Modern Jazz Quartet, and a superb bassist so
sought after that he appeared on more than 200 jazz
albums. Heath was a member of one of the great families of
jazz (along with the Joneses and MarsalisesJ, with brothers
Jimmy (on saxophone] and Albert "Tootie" (on drums) also
being stellar jazz musicians.
Heath started on the violin in his school
orchestra but began to seriously study
music at the Granoff School of Music in
Philadelphia after his service in the Air
Force. In 1947, he joined his brother
Jimmy in Howard McGhee's band,
ending up in New York where he
performed regularly with jazz greats
such as Miles Davis, J.J. Johnson,
Sonny Rollins, Fats Navarro, and
Charlie Parker. Heath joined Dizzy
Gillespie's sextet from 1950-52, where
he met the other members of the soon-to-
be Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ): John Lewis,
Mill Jackson, and Kenny Clarke. Heath stayed
with MJQ from its beginning in 1952 for more than 40
Modern Jazz Quartet,
The Artistry of the Modern Jazz Quartet,
Prestige, 1952-55
Jimmy Heath, Really Big!,
Original Jazz Classics, 1960
Heath Brothers, Marchin'On!, Strata East, 1976
Heath Brothers, Brotherly Love,
Antilles, 1991
Modern Jazz Quartet,
Celebration, Atlantic, 1992
years, off and on. Lewis' arrangements brought the bass
into greater prominence, prompting Heath to greater heights
with his performances. During his time with MJQ, Heath
performed on film soundtracks and with symphony orches-
tras and string quartets, always exhibiting style and poise in
every setting.
During the break from the MJQ in 1975-82, Heath
worked with Sarah Vaughan and began performing
with the Heath Brothers band, which included
Jimmy and Tootie. His talents on bass were
much in demand as the house bass player
for both Prestige and Blue Note record
labels, providing a confident, straight-ahead
style of playing reminiscent of the great
Ray Brown.
Heath received many honors in his
career, such as the Maria Fischer Award.
!•' ranee's Cross of Officer of Arts and Letters,
and an honorary doctoral degree from Berklee
College in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition.
I loath performed
Nixon and Clinton.
at the White;
'residents
NEA Jazz Masters 53
enderson
SAXOPHONIST
Born April 24, 1937 in Lima, OH
Died June 30, 2001
One of the more distinctive tenor saxophone voices to
have emerged during the 1960s, Joe Henderson's rich
tone and strong sense of rhythm influenced scores of
tenor saxophonists who followed him. In concert, his
aggressive playing was often tempered by a melodic touch
on ballads.
Growing up in Lima, Ohio, he first played the drums,
switching to tenor saxophone at age 13. After high school
he studied at Kentucky State College, then Wayne State in
Detroit from 1956-60, as well as under the private tutelage of
pianist Barry Harris. One of his first jazz jobs was alongside
saxophonist Sonny Stitt. Uien he led his own band around
Detroit in 1960. He entered the Army band that year,
remaining until 1962.
After Leaving the Army, Henderson eventually moved to
New York, where he worked with organist Jack McDuff, then
co-led a band with Kenny Dorham during 1962-63. His first
recording as a leader in 1963, Page One, was one of the most
popular releases for the Blue Note label, and led to one of
his ri( hesl recording periods both as a leader and sideman.
I le played with Horace Silver in 1964-66, and Andrew Hill
in 1965, both Blue Note artists. His work on Lee Morgan's
album The Sidewinder, especially on the hit title track, con-
tains some oi his best solos of the period. During the late
i'ii. lis. he w,is pari ol the ( ooperative band, the Jazz
imunicators, with Freddie Hubbard and Louis Hayes.
At the end of the decade he spent over a year with the
Herbie Hancock Sextet (1969-70), and joined the pop band
Blood, Sweat & Tears for a short time in 1971. Thereafter
he worked mainly as a leader and freelance saxophonist.
His bands employed a number
of outstanding musicians
&
^ DD1S00t X
Page One, Blue Note, 1963
Four!, Verve, 1968
1&2.
The State of th,
Blue
hak.
Note
•nor. Vol.
985
and, following his Blue
Note years, he made a
series of rewarding
discs for the
Milestone label.
In the 1990s,
Henderson experi-
enced a resurgence
in popularity with a
series of well-
received albums on
die Verve label. His
recordings of the music of
Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis,
and Antonio Carlos Jobim in inventive
arrangements were inspired, and he showed a skill for
big band arrangement with his 1996 release.
Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn,
Verve, 1991
Big Band, Verve, 1992-96
54 NEA Jazz Masters
ARRANGER MUSICAL DIRECTOR PIANIST
Sarah Vaughan, No Count Sarah,
Mercury, 1958
Eileen Farrell, / Got a Right to Sing the Blues,
Columbia, 1960
Original Cast Recording, Ain't Misbehavin',
RCA, 1978
American Composers Orchestra, Four Symphonic
Works by Duke Ellington, Music Masters, 1 989
Canadian Brass Quintet, Red Hot
Jazz: The Dixieland Album,
Philips, 1993
When he was four, Luther
Henderson moved to
Harlem with his family
and became neighbors with
Duke Ellington. Ellington
would become a major influ-
ence on Henderson's life,
beginning in the late 1940s
and early 1950s when he
adapted and orchestrated some
of Ellington's larger works, such
as "Harlem — A Tone Parallel" and
"Three Black Kings," for perform-
ance in a concerto grosso format by his
orchestra and another symphony orches-
tra. Henderson's classical training at the Juilliard School and
music study at New York University led Ellington to dub
Henderson "his classical arm." His talents included com-
posing, arranging, conducting, and performing, and he was
hired by Ellington in 1946 to orchestrate his Broadway
musical, Beggar's Holiday.
Henderson worked on more than 50 Broadway produc-
tions in various capacities. For Ain't Misbehavin', he was
the original pianist as well as orchestrator, arranger, and
musical supervisor. For Lena Home: The Lady and Her
Music, he was the musical consultant and arranged several
selections. He orchestrated such musicals as the Tony
Award-winning Raisin, I'lay On!, and jelly's Uisi Jam. As a
Henderson
Born March 14, 1919 in Kansas City, MO
Died July 29, 2003
dance arranger, Henderson's credits included Flower
Drum Song, Do Re Mi, Funny Girl, and No, No
Nanette. His skill in bringing a jazz sensibility to
musical theater was much in demand. For Jelly's
Last Jam, he rearranged Jelly Roll Morton's jazz
compositions and musical fragments into a hit
musical; Ain't Misbehavin' used the music of
jazz great Fats Waller as a base.
Henderson's talents extended to the arena of
television, where he held positions as musical
director, orchestrator, arranger, and pianist for
the Columbia Pictures television special Ain 7
Misbehavin ' for which he received an Emmy
nomination. Albums to his credit included several with
the Canadian Brass Quintet and Eileen Farrell's
/ Got a Right to Sing the Blues, which was re-released in
1992. For Columbia Records, the Luther Henderson
Orchestra recorded six albums. In addition, Henderson
contributed to various albums recorded by the Duke
Ellington Orchestra, the Andre Kostelanetz Orchestra,
the Royal Philharmonic, Mandy Patinkin, Polly Bergen,
Anita Ellis, and others. Henderson's composition "Ten
Good Years," with lyricist Martin Charnin, was recorded
by Nancy Wilson on her Coconut Grove album.
Henderson died of cancer after he had been named
an NEA Jazz Master, but before he was able to receive the
award at the ceremony.
NEA Jazz Masters 55
Hendric
Born September 16, 1921 Newark, OH
VOCALIST LYRICIST EDUCATOR
Ion Hendricks helped create the singing style known as
vocalese, or crafting songs and lyrics out of the note
sequence of famous jazz instrumental solos, as a member
uf the great jazz vocal ensemble Lambert, Hendricks &
Ross. A gifted lyricist, he has added words to classics by
Count Basie. Horace Silver, Miles Davis, and Art Blakey,
brilliantly mirroring the instrumental effects.
He grew up largely in Toledo, Ohio, one of 17 children.
His singing career began at age eight, singing at parties and
dinners. Later he sang on a radio show on which he was
occasionally accompanied by another Toledoan, the great
pianist Art Tatum. Returning home from service in the
Army, he studied at the University of Toledo and taught
himself to play drums. In 1952, he relocated to New York
and found his initial work as a songwriter,
working for such artists as Louis
Jordan and King Pleasure. One
of his earliest recordings came
on a version of the Woody
Herman band feature,
"Four Brothers."
His collaboration with
vocalist Dave Lambert
began in 1957 when he re-
recorded "Four Brothers,"
which Led to their associa-
tion with singer Annie Ross
4?
^DDISCOo^
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross,
Sing a Song of Basie, Verve, 1 957
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross,
Everybody's Boppm', Columbia. 1959-61
Love. MuS?1981-82
Freddie Freeloader,
Denon, 1989-90
Wynton Marsalis, Blood on the
Fields, Columbia, 1994
on a collection of Count Basie songs. Sing a Song of Basie,
using innovative multitracked arrangement of vocals,
became a hit when released in 1958 and gave birth to
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross as a full-time act. They subse-
quently toured with the Basie band and were a top-selling
act for nearly four years, until Ross left the band. Lambert
and Hendricks continue for a while with new singer
Yolande Bavan, eventually breaking up in 1964. Hendricks
found work as a soloist, then moved to England in 1968. In
the early 1970s he put together another trio, this time with
wife Judith and daughter Michelle, an arrangement he has
occasionally revisited over the years.
Evolution of the Blues, an extended stage work
Hendricks had first performed with Lambert and Ross at the
Monterey Jazz Festival in 1960, went on a five-year run at
the Broadway Theatre in San Francisco in tire 1970s.
Thereafter he took a variety of university teaching positions
in California, and continued to work with Judidi, Michelle,
and youngest daughter Aria, with occasional male singers
such as Bobbv McFerrin, Kevin Burke, and Miles Griffith.
He has written for and played with the Manhattan Transfer,
a jazz vocal group heavily influenced by Hendricks. More
recently he was one of three singers in Wynton Marsalis*
Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio. Blood on the Fields. I [e has
written lyrics to a number of jazz standards, including
"Four," "Hi Fly," "Along Came Betty." "Desifinado," and
"No More Blues."
56 NEA Jazz Masters
>
N
N
>
p
P
lm
Nat
CRITIC JOURNALIST PRODUCER
ento:
Bom June 10, 1925 in Boston, MA
One of the major voices in jazz literature, Nat Hentoff
has written about and championed jazz for more
than half a century, produced recording sessions for
some of the biggest names in jazz, and written liner notes for
scores more. Through his work, he has helped to advance
the appreciation and knowledge of jazz. It is fitting that he
is the first to receive the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for
Jazz Advocate.
Hentoff began his education at Northeastern University
in Boston, his hometown, and went on to pursue graduate
studies at Harvard University. As a graduate student, he
hosted a local radio show and became immersed in the
Boston jazz scene. In 1953, after completing a Fulbright
Fellowship at the Sorbonne in Paris, he spent four years as
an associate editor at Down Beat magazine, where he laid
the foundation for a truly remarkable career as a jazz jour-
nalist. Hentoff was co-editor oijazz Review horn 1958 to
1961, and worked for the Candid label as A&R director from
1960 to 1961, producing recording sessions by jazz icons
such as Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, and Abbey Lincoln.
His books on music include Jazz Country (1965), Jazz:
New Perspectives on the History of Jazz by Twelve of the
World's Foremost Jazz Critics and Scholars (with Albert J.
McCarthy, 1974), Boston Boy: Crowing Up with Jazz and
Other Rebellious Passions (1 986), Listen to the Stories: Nat
Hentoff on Jazz and Country Music (1995), and American
Music Is (2004). His work has appeared in such venerable
publications as The New York Times, The New Republic,
Jazz Times, and The New Yorker, where he was a staff writer
for more than 25 years. In addition to his status as a
renowned jazz historian and critic, Hentoff also is an expert
on First Amendment rights, criminal justice, and education
and has written a number of books on these topics.
In 1980, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in education as well as a Silver Gavel Award from the
American Bar Association for his coverage of the law
and criminal justice. Five years later, he was awarded
an honorary degree from Northeastern University. The
multidisciplinary body of work that Hentoff has produced
represents an articulation of the interconnectedness of the
ideals of constitutional rights and jazz music and is without
a doubt a major contribution to
the dialogue surrounding
the uniquely American jazz
tradition. Currently, Hentoff
writes about music for the
Wall Street Journal and
has a weekly column
in The Village Voice
and in the United
Media syndicate, which
distributes the column to
250 papers nationwide.
c ^BIB Uoo
4? %
Jazz Country, HarperCollins, 1965
The Jazz Life, Harper Collins 1975
Jazz Is, Random House, 1 976
Boston Boy: Growing Up With Jazz and Other
Rebellious Passions, Random House, 1986
The Nat Hentoff Reader,
DaCapo Press, 2001
NEA Jazz Master 57
DRUMMER
Born October 11, 1936 in Los Angeles, CA
Died May 3, 2001
Known among musicians and fans as "Smiling Billy,"
Billy Higgins was first introduced to the broader jazz
public when he came to the East Coast with the
Ornette Coleman Quartet in 1959 for their extended engage-
ment at the Five Spot Cafe. Although he does not have
many records under his own name, Higgins was often in
great demand as a sideman, providing sensitive
accompaniment in a variety of settings.
Higgins started on the drums at age 12.
By the time he was 19, he was working in
rhythm and blues bands, including Amos
Milburn and Bo Diddley. Other early
affiliations included singers Brook
Benton, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Sister
Rosetta Tharpe. He also began working
with jazz artists, such as Dexter Gordon.
Don Cherry, James Clay, and Walter
Benton. 1 le joined the Red Mitchell band
in 1957, but soon left to join Ornette
Coleman's new band, with whom he worked
Steadily ill 1958 and 1959. In the early 1960s, he
worked with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and
Sonny Rollins. By then he had become one of the most
^0 0,3000^
Ornette Coleman,
Change of the Century,
Atlantic, 1959
Soweto, Red, 1979
Mr. Billy Higgins. Evidence, 1984
3 M For Peace. Red, 1993
Charles Lloyd, Hyperion with Higgins.
ECM, 2001
in-demand freelance drummers on the scene, particularly
on many Blue Note sessions.
His drumming was an important addition to many
recordings, such as Andrew Hill's Point of Departure,
Herbie Hancock's Takin ' Off, and Lee Morgan's The
Sidewinder, the last two being especially popular jazz
albums. He would intermittently' work with
Coleman again in the 1960s arid 1970s as well.
Outside of Coleman, a frequent musical col-
laborator was Cedar Walton, an association
that began in 1966 and continued into
the 1990s, often in the Walton's Eastern
Rebellion bands. In the 1990s his career
was halted by kidney disease, leading to
a subsequent kidney transplant. After
resuming playing, he remained much in
demand for record dates. During 1999-
2001, he worked frequently with Charles
Lloyd when not leading his own bands,
recording some of his most inventive drum-
ming while playing against Lloyd's saxophone.
58 NEA Jazz Masters
BASSIST EDUCATOR
Hmton
Born June 23, 1910 in Vicksburg, MS
Died December 19, 2000
Milt Hinton's career spanned the gamut of jazz gen-
erations, working from the early swing days of the
1930s with Cab Calloway through the end of the
millennium with the new guard of jazz, such as Branford
Marsalis and Christian McBride. His ability to make a con-
tribution in any setting allowed for his vast array of work.
As a soloist, Hinton, nicknamed "The Judge," was adept at
the early bass tradition of slapping the strings. In addition
to his love of music, Hinton was a perceptive and widely
exhibited photographer. Much of tbe history of jazz can be
found in his photographs, which were published in several
magazines and in two extraordinary coffee-table books.
Like many African American families in the early part of
the 20th century, his family migrated north from Mississippi
to Chicago, where he was raised. His mother was a church
musician, playing organ, piano, and directing the choir. She
bought him a violin for his thirteenth birthday, which he
studied for four years from 1923-27. Later he picked up the
bass horn and tuba while studying music at Wendell
Phillips High School in Chicago. In 1928, he found his
voice when he switched to string bass. One of his earliest
professional affiliations was with violinist Eddie South,
with whom he played intermittently between 1931-36.
Other early affiliations included Zulty Singleton, Erskine
Tate, Art 'latum, and Jabho Smith
Hinton's early career experience was centered around
the Cab Calloway Orchestra, with which he worked from
C^DISCOO,
Various Artists,
The Modern Art of Jazz, Biograph, 1956
The Judge at his Best,
Chiaroscuro, 1973-95
Back to Bass-ics, Progressive, 1984
Branford Marsalis, Trio Jeepy,
Columbia, 1988
Laughing at Life,
Columbia, 1995
1936-51. After leaving
Calloway, he worked with the
big bands of Joe Bushkin,
Jackie Gleason, Phil
Moore, and Count Basie.
He played with Louis
Armstrong between
1952-55, then became a
staff musician for CBS,
one of the first African
American musicians wel-
comed into the TV studios.
From 1956 on, Hinton was a
much in-demand studio musi-
cian, adept at different styles of play-
ing, from the pop of Paul Anka to the jazz of Teddy Wilson.
He also was in-demand in live settings, performing with
Jimmy McParlland, Benny Goodman, Ben Webster, Sammy
Davis, Jr., Judy Garland, and Harry Belafonte, among others.
In the 1960s, he became a staff musician at ABC, working
on the Dick Cavett Show. In the last decades of bis life,
Hinton continued to play and record, inspiring new genera-
tions of jazz musicians and fans.
He received numerous honorary doctoral degrees and
taught jazz at several colleges and universities, including
Hunter College, Baruoh College;, Skidmore Col lego, and
Interlochen Music ( lamp.
NEA Jazz Masters 59
Horn
Bom May 1, 1934 in Washington, DC
Died October 20, 2005
VOCALIST PIANIST
Shirley Horn began leading her own group in the mid-
1950s, and in 1960 recorded her first album, Embers
and Ashes, which established her reputation as an
exceptional and sensitive jazz vocalist. Born in 1934 in
Washington, DC, she studied classical piano as a teenager at
Howard University's Junior School of Music.
Under the influence of artists such as Oscar Peterson
and Ahmad Jamal, she then began a career as a jazz pianist
and soon after discovered the great expressive power of her
voice. When Miles Davis heard Embers and Ashes, he
brought her to New York, where she began opening for him
at the Village Vanguard. Soon she was performing in major
venues throughout the United States and recording with
Quincy Jones for the Mercury label.
For some years she spent much of her time in Europe,
then took a ten-year hiatus to raise her family in
Washington. She continued to appear in and around the DC
area, and in the 1980s she returned to the recording studio.
The overwhelming critical success of her 1981 appearance
at Holland's North Sea Jazz Festival reintroduced her to old
bins, won her new followers, and revitalized her career,
allowing her to take to the road with her trio and record four
more alliums.
^D DlSCOCft
#
Embers and Ashes, Stereo-Craft, 1960
Violets for Your Furs, Steeple Chase, 198
You Won't Forgm/le, Verve, 1990
I Remember Miles, Verve, 1998
May the Music Never End, Verve. 2003
Her association with the Verve
label, which began in 1987,
gave a new showcase to her
inimitable style and
cemented her reputation as
a world-class jazz artist.
Six of her more than 20
albums have been nomi-
nated for Grammy Awards,
and she has collaborated
with jazz artists including
Hank Jones, Kenny Burrell,
Wynton Marsalis, Roy
Hargrove, Buck Hill, Branford
Marsalis, and Toots Thielemans
In 1991, she collaborated with Miles Davis on her criti-
cally acclaimed album You Won't Forget Me. Her 1992
recording Here's to Life was that year's top-selling jazz
album and earned a Grammy Award for arranger Johnny
Mandel. In 1998. Horn paid tribute to her mentor with the
brilliant recording / Remember Miles, winning the Grammy
Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.
60 NEA Jazz Masters
VIBIST PIANIST BANDLEADER
Jackson
Characterized by a slower vibrato than his predeces-
sors, Milt Jackson's ability to swing and to create
vocal-like inflections made his an instantly recogniz-
able sound on the vibes. Another jazz musician whose ear-
liest experience was in the church, he sang gospel duets
with his brother and played the guitar. At age 11, he began
playing the piano, moving to the xylophone and the vibes in
his early teens. After studying music at Michigan State
University, his musical career actually began with a touring
gospel ensemble in the early 1940s. Upon hearing him in
Detroit, Dizzy Gillespie arranged for Jackson, known by the
nickname "Bags," to come to New York in 1945 to join his
band. After leaving Gillespie's pioneering bebop big band in
1948, he went on to play with Howard McGhee,
Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron, and Charlie
Parker, applying the bebop sound to the vibes.
He replaced Terry Gibbs in the Woody
Herman band during 1949-50, returning to
the Gillespie band from 1950-52. Thereafter
he formed his own quartet, featuring John
Lewis, Ray Brown, and Kenny Clarke.
The Milt Jackson Quartet then became the
Modern Jazz Quartet, with Percy Heath
Born January 1, 1923 in Detroit, Ml
Died October 9, 1999
replacing Brown, and Connie Kay eventually replacing
Clarke. The MJQ would become an enduring jazz institu-
tion for more than 40 years, with Jackson's blues-drenched
solos being a crucial ingredient in their sound. When the
MJQ wasn't touring, Jackson occasionally led bands featur-
ing Jimmy Heath and Ray Brown and worked on recording
sessions that included Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and
Ray Charles.
He left the MJQ in 1974, leading his own groups or play-
ing with all-star aggregations until 1981, when the MJQ
reunited for a concert in Japan. Following that concert, the
quartet made annual tours from 1982 through the early
1990s. For most of the remainder of his career he worked
with his own groups, which often included such
*»
C ^D DISCOg/j
M
'^
Modern Jazz Quartet, MJQ,
Original Jazz Classics, 1954-56
Plenty, Plenty Soul. Atlantic, 1957
Bags Meets Trane, Atlantic, 1959
Milt Jackson + Count Basie + The Big Band,
Vol. 7 & 2, Original Jazz Classics, 1978
musicians as Mickey Roker, Bob Cranshaw,
and Mike LeDonne.
The winner of numerous jazz polls,
Jackson's vibe-playing dominated the
field for much of his career, leading to
his induction into the Percussion Hall
of Fame and Down Haul I hill of
Fame, among other honors.
Sa Va Bella,
Warner Brothers, 1996
NEA Jazz Masters 61
PIANIST COMPOSER
Born July 2. 1930 in Pittsburgh. PA
One of the subtlest virtuosos of jazz piano,
Ahmad Jamais uncanny use of space in his
playing and leadership of his small
ensembles have been hallmarks of his influential
career. Among those he has influenced is most
notably Miles Davis. Davis made numerous and
prominent mentions of Jamal's influence on the
trumpeter, particular in his use of space, allow-
ing the music to "breathe," and his choice of
compositions. Several tunes that were in Jamal's
playlist, such as the standard "Autumn Leaves" and
Jamal's own "New Rhumba," began appearing in the
playlist of Davis' 1950s bands. Additionally, Jamal's tex-
tured rhythms on piano influenced Davis' piano players as
well, from Wynton Kelly in the 1950s to Herbie Hancock in
the 1960s.
His piano studies began at age three, and by age 11, he
was making his professional debut with a sound strongly
influenced by Art Tatum and Erroll Garner. Following
graduation from Pittsburgh's Westinghouse High School, he
joined the George Hudson band in 1947. In 1949, he joined
swing violinist Joe Kennedy's group Four Strings as pianist.
a?
c <f$D DKCOGjtj
^
At the Pershing/But Not for Me,
Chess, 1958
Free Flight, Impulse!, 1971
Rossiter Road, Atlantic, 1986
Big Byrd: The Essence, Part 2,
Verve, 1994-95
After Fa\r,
Birdology/Dreyfus Jazz, 2004
This led to formation of his trio
Three Strings in 1950-52. which
debuted at Chicago's Blue Note
club, and later became the
Ahmad Jamal Trio. His 1958
album At the Pershing became
a surprising smash hit. high-
lighted by his interpretation of
"Poinciana." With the popularity
of the album and the advocacy of
Davis, Jamal's trio was one of the
most popular jazz acts in the late
1950s and early 1960s.
For the most part, Jamal has worked in
piano-bass-drums trios, using the intricate relationship of
the band to explore his sound, directing the trio through
seemingly abrupt time and tempo shifts. His piano virtuosity
has also been welcomed bv a number of orchestras and his
abilities as a composer are considerable. His approach has
been described as being chamber-jazz-like, and he has
experimented with strings and electric instruments in his
compositions.
62 NEA Jazz Masters
TROMBONIST COMPOSER ARRANGER
ohnson
Born January 22, 1924 in Indianapolis, IN
Died February 4, 2001
Often referred to as the "Charlie Parker of the trom-
bone" due to his uncanny musical dexterity and flu-
ency, J.J. Johnson dominated his instrument for over
40 years, and was known as a potent composer and arranger.
He was a perennial jazz magazine poll winner for his peer-
less trombone playing.
Between ages nine and eleven, he studied piano with his
family's church organist, picking up the trombone at age 14.
His first professional experience came with the bands of
Clarence Love and Snookum Russell. It was in the Russell
band that he met jazz trumpeter Fats Navarro, an early influ-
ence on the young trombonist. After leaving Russell, he
spent three years with Benny Carter's band, then gigged
with Count Basie in 1 945-46. He worked briefly with Dizzy
Gillespie, and Woody Herman, then toured the Far East with
Oscar Pettiford. The difficulty of making a living in the jazz
field affected Johnson; from 1952-54 he occupied a day job
as a blueprint reader. Then came one of his most significant
early bands, a two-trombone group he co-led with Kai
Winding — the Jay and Kai Quintet — from 1954-56; after a
period of freelancing and bandleading, he re-joined Winding
in 1958. The group was instrumental in demonstrating the
power and possibilities of the trombone in modern jazz.
In the late 1950s, he began to g;iin recognition as a corn-
poser. Two of his extended works, niac
"El Camino Real," and "Sketch
for Trombone and Orchestra,"
were commissioned by the
<&
The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson,
Vol. 1& 2, Blue Note, 1953-55
Stan Getz & J.J. Johnson at the Opera House,
Verve. 1957
The Great Kai andJ.J.,
Impulse!, 1960
Live at the Village Vanguard,
EmArcy, 1988
Tangence, Verve, 1994
Monterey Jazz Festival. A
commission from Dizzy
Gillespie resulted in
"Perceptions," a large-
scale work for orchestra
that was recorded for
Verve Records. In addition
to his work as a composer,
he performed with groups led
by Miles Davis, Clark Terry,
and Sonny Stitt, then moved to
California in 1970. There he immersed
himself in lucrative television and film scoring. His scores
can be heard on such television programs as Maybcrry RFD,
That Girl, Mod Squad, Six Million Dollar Man, and Starsky
and Hutch.
In 1987, he returned to his hometown Indianapolis
and began playing, louring, and recording again. His
awards include an honorary doctoral degree from Indiana
University and the Indiana Governor's Arts Award in 1989.
NEA Jazz Masters 63
ft «1*v
?! -
^J^M^JTb^ DRUMMER COMPOSER
Born September 9, 1927 in Pontiac, Ml
Died May 18, 2004
The propulsive style of drummer Elvin Jones powered
the John Coltrane Quartet during his six-year stint
with the group and influenced countless percussion-
ists that followed him over the past 40 years. As with fellow
2003 NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath, and a number of other
jazz greats, Elvin Jones was the product of a musical family.
His brothers include pianist Hank Jones and cornetist Thad
Jones. The youngest of 10 siblings, Jones began learning the
drums during his middle school years, studying the styles of
Chick Webb, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich, and the beboppers that
followed them, including Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, and
Art Blakey.
After serving in the Army from 1946-49, he
returned to Detroit, immersing himself in the fertile
jazz scene there in the early 1950s, before heading
to New York in 1955. After playing with Harry
"Sweets" Edison. J.J. Johnson, and Sonny Rollins
at bis famous Village Vanguard session, he joined
the John Coltrane Quartet in 1960. His dynamic
drumming pushed Coltrane's improvisations to
new heights, and provided innovative accompani-
ment to the rest of the rhythm section: pianist
McCoy Tyner and bassists Jimmy Garrison and
Reggie Workman.
In 1965, Jones left the Coltrane group and formed his
own band, a trio with Jimmy Garrison and reed player Joe
Farrell, beginning a series of recordings for the Blue Note
label. Since that time, Jones' trios and his latter day bands,
known as the Jazz Machine, have welcomed numerous
adventurous players. These have ranged from Steve
Grossman, Sonny Fortune, and Roland Prince to such
younger players as Delfeayo Marsalis. Nicholas Payton.
David Sanchez, and John Coltrane's son Ravi.
Jones frequently performed free for
schools and other institutions, and
at jazz clinics. Aside from music,
he made his acting debut as
Job Caine in the 1970 film
John Coltrane, The Complete Africa/Brass
Sessions, Impulse!, 1961
Poly-Currents, Blue Note, 1969
David Murray, Special Quartet, Columbia, 1990
It Don't Mean A Thing, Enja, 1993
Bill Frisell. With Dave Holland and Elvin
Jones, Nonesuch, 2001
Zachariah. He toured exten-
sively with his group Jazz
Machine and made later
recordings with Cecil Taylor.
Dewey Redman. Dave
Holland, and Bill Frisell.
64 NEA Jazz Masters
«!
PIANIST
ones
Born July 31. 1918 in Vicksburg, MS
Hank Jones, a member of the famous jazz family that
includes brothers cometist Thad and drummer
Elvin, has served as a pianist in a vast array of set-
tings, always lending a distinctive, swinging sensibility to
the sessions. Although born in Mississippi, Jones grew up
in Pontiac, Michigan, listening to such performers as Earl
Hines, Fats Waller, and Art Tatum. A performer by
the time he was 13, Jones played with territory
bands that toured Michigan and Ohio. In one
such band he met saxophonist Lucky
Thompson, who got him a job in the Hot
Lips Page band in 1944, prompting Jones'
move to New York.
Once in New York, Jones became
exposed to bebop, embracing the style
in his playing and even recording with
Charlie Parker. Meanwhile, he took jobs
with such bandleaders as John Kirby,
Coleman Hawkins, Andy Kirk. Billy
Eckstine, and Howard McGhee. He toured
with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic
from 1947-51. As a result, he became Ella
Fitzgerald's pianist, touring with her from 1948-53. These
experiences served to broaden his musical palette and
sophistication.
A consummate freelancer, Jones found work with artists
such as Benny Goodman. Artie Shaw, Milt Jackson, and
.^DCSCO^
Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. The versatility Jones
acquired through such affiliations served him well when he
joined the staff of CBS as a studio musician, remaining for
17 years. Although his studio work found him working on
productions like the Ed Sullivan Show, Jones continued his
touring and recording experiences in a variety of settings.
His broad range and ability to fit in different settings
also landed him in Broadway stage bands, where
The Jazz Trio of Hank Jones,
Savoy, 1955
Lazy Afternoon,
Concord Jazz, 1989
Upon Reflecm, Verve, 1993
Charlie Haden/Hank Jones, Steal Away,
Verve, 1994
For My Father, Justin Time, 2004
he served as pianist and conductor for such
shows as Ain 't Misbehavin '.
Jones was the first regular pianist in
brother Thad's co-led orchestra with Mel
Lewis, beginning in 1966. Throughout
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Jones con-
tinued to be much in demand for record
dates and tours. Among his affiliations
was the Great Jazz Trio, a cooperative
unit with Ron Carter and Tony Williams,
who were later supplanted by Buster
Williams and Ben Riley. Jones has also expe-
rienced his share of piano duos, with the likes
of Tommy Flanagan — with whom he became
acquainted when both were developing around the Detroit
area — George Shearing, and John Lewis. As a leader and
valued sideman, Hank Jones can bo found on thousands
of recordings.
NEA Jazz Masters 65
than
ones
DRUMMER
Born July 10, 1911 in Chicago, IL
Died September 3, 1985
Io Jones' uncanny way around the drums, ability to truly
swing a band without ever overpowering it, and slick,
smiling sense of showmanship made him one of the
most influential of the early swing band drummers. Jones
made an art form of the use of brushes on the drum kit, with
accents timely and thoroughly appropriate for whatever
band with which he played. Jo Jones is credited
^
with the transfer of the essential pulse of jazz
music from the bass drum to the hi-hat cym-
bal, influencing such modern drummers as
Max Roach. His technique was to leave
the hi-hat cymbals just slightly apart,
which produced a sound different from
the relative staccato approach of his
predecessors. Never one to engage in
extended solos, his delight was in driv-
ing a band with his incomparable swing.
Jones grew up in Alabama, touring
u ith various shows and carnivals as a tap
dancer and instrumentalisl while still in his
teens, I lis first major jazz job came when he
joined the territory hand known as Walter Page's Blue
Devils in Oklahoma City in the late 1920s. Jones stayed in
the Midwest for quite sonic time, working with trumpeter
Lloyd Hunter ,md moving to Kansas City in 1933.
.^•gD DISCOq
#
Count Basie, The Original American
Decca Recordings, MCA, 1937-39
The Essential Jo Jones,
Vanguard, 1955
Jo Jones Trio, Fresh Sounds, 1 959
Jo Jones Sextet, Fresh Sounds, 1 960
The Main Man,
Original Jazz Classics, 1976
In 1934 came the affiliation with which his artistry is
forever identified, drumming with the Count Basie band,
with whom he worked on and off for over 15 years. Jones'
drumming was the final ingredient to what became known
as the "Ail-American Rhythm Section." Besides Jones, this
included guitarist Freddie Green, bassist Walter Page.
and Basie on piano. They provided the irresistible
pulse that drove the Count Basie band of the
day to be called the swinging-est band in the
land. Jones served two years in the Army
from 1944-46. then returned to die Basie
band, where he remained a full-time
member until 1948.
Thereafter, though frequently
reuniting with Basie on special occa-
sions, Jones became a freelance drum-
mer. He played on tours with Jazz at the
Philharmonic, and recorded with many
of the jazz greats, including Billie Holiday.
Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges. Teddy
Wilson, Lester Young. Art Tatum. and Benin
Goodman. Jones was constantly in demand for a
variety of all-star swing sessions and made numerous
recordings as a highly valued sideman.
66 NEA Jazz Masters
SAXOPHONIST BANDLEADER
Born May 28, 1898 in Newport, KY
Died December 11, 1992
4>
Andy Kirk, though virtually unknown nowadays out-
side of jazz circles, led one of the hottest swing
bands in the country during the 1930s, rivaling
Basie's. His band, the Clouds of Joy, also introduced some
of the biggest names in jazz, most notably Mary
Lou Williams.
Kirk grew up in Denver, Colorado,
where he came under the musical tutelage
of Paul Whiteman's father, Wilberforce
Whiteman. His first job, as bass saxo-
phonist and tuba player, came with the
George Morrison Orchestra in 1918. In
1925 he relocated to Dallas and joined
Terence Holder's Dark Clouds of Joy, a
band he eventually took over in 1929,
changing the name to the Clouds of Joy
(sometimes being known as the Twelve
Clouds of Joy, depending on the number
of musicians in the bandj.
He moved the band to Kansas City, where they
made their first recordings in 1929-39, including Mary Lou
Williams' "Froggy Bottom," which has been covered count
less times since. Kirk's band was highly popular, becom-
ing — along with the Count Basie hand, the Benny Moteii
*t
1929-1931,
Classics, 1929-31
1936-1937,
Classics, 1936-37
1937-1938,
Classics, 1937-38
Kansas City Bounce,
Black and Blue, 1939-40
1940-1942,
Classics, 1940-42
Orchestra, and Jay McShann's band — one of the purveyors
of the Kansas City swing sound. Particularly popular was
their recording of "Until the Real Thing Comes Along"
in 1936.
Although the leader of the band, Kirk usually
was not a soloist, utilizing the talent in his band
for the spotlight instead. His genius lay in
realizing how best to make use of his band
members' skills. Realizing the awesome
writing and arranging aptitude of Mary
Lou Williams, for example, he made her
the chief composer and arranger for the
Clouds of Joy from 1929-42. Other
notable band members who Kirk high-
lighted as soloists included Shorty Baker,
Don Byas, Kenny Kersey, Howard
McGhee, Fats Navarro, and Dick Wilson.
The band continued to tour and record until
disbanding in 1948.
Kirk led another hand in California in the early
1950s, then went into other professions. In the 1970s he led
pickup bands on occasion, though ho spent the remainder of
his life working for his Jehovah's Witness church.
NEA Jazz Mastei-s 67
Lewis
Born May 3, 1920 in La Grange, IL
Died March 29, 2001
PIANIST COMPOSER ARRANGER EDUCATOR
Iohn Lewis' artistry flowered during his historic tenure
as musical director of the longest continuing small
ensemble in the annals of jazz, the Modern Jazz Quartet,
vvith whom he was able to realize his unique vision of
fusing blues, bebop, and classical music into an artful,
elegant balance.
Raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lewis' mother was
a primary musical influence. After high school, Lewis
joined the Army in 1942, where he met drummer Kenny
Clarke and trumpeter/bandleader Dizzy Gillespie.
In 1946, Lewis and Clarke joined the rhythm section of
Gillespie's pioneer big band, which included vibraphonist
Milt Jackson and bassist Ray Brown. The Gillespie band
provided a convenient canvas for Lewis to write composi-
tions and craft arrangements, utilizing the talents of some of
the finest young musicians in jazz. Lewis' first extended
composition for Gillespie was his 1947 "Toccata for
1 1 umpnt." which premiered at Carnegie Hall. Other early
' ontributions to the Gillespie book included Lewis' arrange-
ments of the tunes "Two Bass Hit" and "Emanon."
Coinciding with his work with the Gillespie band, Lewis
atinued bis music studies at the Manhattan School of
Musil . eventuallj earning his master's degree in 1953. Lewis
also worked with other j.izz greats in between tours with
Gillespie's band, in< hiding serving as pianist and arranger for
the Miles I).i\ is rei ording, Birth o) the Cool, in 1950.
In 1951, the Gillespie band rhythm section of 1946 —
Lewis. ( llarke, [at ksnn. and Brown — reunited in the ret onl-
ine studio .is the Mill [ai kson Quartet, later becoming the
Modem [azz Quartet By the time those recordings were
68 NEA Jazz Masters
^
Modern Jazz Quartet, Django,
Original Jazz Classics, 1953-55
Grand Encounter. Blue Note, 1956
The Wonderful WorlcWf Jazz, Atlantic. 1£
Kansas City Breaks, DRG, 1982
Private Concert, EmArcy, 1 990
issued, Percy Heath had replaced
Brown. In 1954, the Modern
Jazz Quartet began touring
and Connie Kay replaced
Clarke on drums the follow-
ing year. Lewis would use
his time in the more than
40 years with MJQ to hone
his composing and arrang-
ing skills, experimenting
with form and sound, while
collaborating with guests rang-
ing in diversity from Sonny
Rollins to the Beaux Arts String
Quartet to singer Diahann Carroll to full
orchestras. Perhaps his most widely interpreted composi-
tion is "Django," which he wrote in honor of the legendary
Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Throughout his career. John Lewis had written for a vast
number of musical configurations in a dizzying array of
styles, from solo piano to symphonies, ballets to film and
television scores. Lewis was part of the first wave of what
composer Gunther Schuller dubbed the Third Stream — an
effort at forging a third stream through the fusing of the two
primary streams: jazz and European classical music.
As an educator, he served as director of faculty at the
Lenox School of Jazz, where he first championed Ornette
Coleman: on the trustee board of the Manhattan School of
Music: and in faculty positions at Harvard University and
( Sty College of New York.
Abbey
VOCALIST COMPOSER
Strongly influenced by jazz icons Billie Holiday and
Louis Armstrong, both of whom she met early in
her career, Abbey Lincoln's distinctive vocal style,
thought-provoking writing, and spirited personality have
secured her a place among the jazz luminaries.
Born in Chicago and raised in rural Michigan, Lincoln
began performing while still in high school. In 1951, she
moved to the West Coast, working under various names
(Gaby Lee, Anna Marie, Gaby Wooldridge) before settling on
Abbey Lincoln. She recorded her first album with jazz great
Benny Carter in 1956 and appeared in the 1957 film, The
Girl Can 't Help It. Lincoln then recorded a series of albums
for the Riverside label with drummer
Max Roach, who had introduced
4?
^ddiscog^
«*>.
'/*
Max Roach, We Insist! Freedom
Now Suite, Candid, 1960
Straight AheaijXatviiti, 1961
Abbey Sings Billieltol. 1&2, Enja, 1987
The World Is Falling Down, Verve. 1 990
It's Me. Verve, 2003
her to the label's owner.
Lincoln's collaborations
with Roach (to whom she
was married from 1 962-
70) lasted more than a
decade, and included
Lincoln
Born August 6, 1930 in Chicago, IL
the seminal recording, Freedom Now Suite in 1960. This
was the beginning of a more social and political activist
approach to her music. Over the years, she has worked with
some of the biggest names in jazz, including Sonny Rollins,
Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Jackie
McLean, Clark Terry, and Stan Getz.
In addition to her music, Lincoln also pursued acting,
appearing in the films Nothing But A Man and For Love of
Ivy and on television series, such as Mission: Impossible
and the Flip Wilson Show. She also taught drama at the
California State University. She did not record any albums
as a leader from 1962-72, but made a grand return to jazz
with her 1973 recording, People In Me. her first album of all
original material.
Lincoln returned to her influences in 1987, recording
two albums in tribute to Billie? Holiday, and then a series of
recordings for Verve throughout the 1990s that showcased
her writing prowess. Her emotionally honest, mature style
is still revered, and Lincoln continues to perform and tour
with a new trio.
NEA Jazz Mastei-s 69
Melba
Liston
Born January 13, 1926 Kansas City, MO
Died April 23, 1999
TROMBONIST ARRANGER COMPOSER EDUCATOR
#
Although a formidable trombone player, Melba Liston
was primarily known for her arrangements, espe-
cially working with Randy Weston, and composi-
tions. Growing up mostly in Los Angeles, some of her first
work came during the 1940s with two West Coast masters:
bandleader Gerald Wilson and tenor saxophonist Dexter
Gordon. In Gordon's small combos, she began to
blossom as a trombone soloist, and Gordon
wrote a song as a tribute to her, "Mischievous
Lady." Despite her obvious talent as a
soloist, Liston became an in-demand big
band section player, which likely fueled
her later work as an arranger. During
the 1940s. Liston also worked with
the Count Basie band and with
Billie Holiday.
Following a brief hiatus from music.
she joined Dizzy Gillespie's bebop big
band In 1950. and again for two of
Gillespie's State Department tours in 1956
and 1957. which included her arrangements of
"Annie's Dance" and "Stella by Starlight" in per-
formani es. She started her own all-woman quintet in 1958
working in New York and Bermuda, before joining Quincv
[ones' hand in 1959 to play the musical Free and Easy.
She staved in Jones' louring hand as one of two woman
members until 1961,
^DDISCOo^
'/J
>
Dizzy Gillespie, Dizzy In South
America, Vol. I &2. CAP, 1956
Quincy Jones, Q Live in Paris,
Warner Brothers, 1960
Bandy Weston, Tanjah, Verve, 1973
Bandy Weston/Melba Liston,
Volcano Blues, Verve, 1993
Bandy Weston, Khepera,
Verve, 1998
In the 1950s, Liston began a partnership Uiat she would
return to on and off for more than 40 years. From the
seminal 1959 recording Little Niles through 1998's Khepera.
Liston was the arranger on many of Randy Weston's albums.
Her arrangements, with a powerful base of brass and percus-
sion and expressive solo performances, helped shape and
embellish Weston's compositions.
Other affiliations during the 1960s included
co-leading a band with trumpeter Clark Terry.
and writing for the Duke Ellington orches-
tra, singers Tony Bennett and Eddie Fisher,
and the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra.
During die 1970s, she worked with youth
orchestras in Los Angeles, continuing to
write for Basie, Ellington, and singer
Abbey Lincoln. Liston also became a
staff arranger for die Motown label. Later
that decade she took up residence in
Jamaica, where she taught at the University
of the West Indies and was director of
Popular Music Studies at the Jamaica Institute
of Music.
Slowed by a stroke in 1985, which effectively ended her
playing career, she was able to resume work as a composer
and arranger in the 1990s through the aid of computer
technology. Liston's career helped pave the way for
women in jazz in roles oilier than as vocalists.
70 NEA Jazz Masters
SAXOPHONIST COMPOSER EDUCATOR
McLean
Born May 17, 1931 in New York, NY
Known in the jazz community as "J ac ki e Mac," Jackie
McLean has been a stalwart, enduring force in jazz
since the early 1950s, and a distinguished educator
since 1968. Long the possessor of one of the most recogniz-
able alto saxophone sounds and styles, he has explored the
cutting edge of jazz creativity.
McLean grew up in a musical family, his father being a
guitarist for bandleader Tiny Bradshaw and stepfather own-
ing a record store. By age 15, he chose the alto saxophone
as his instrument. Jackie's earliest studies came through the
tutelage of Foots Thomas, Cecil Scott, Joe Napoleon, and
Andy Brown in his native New York. Another of his infor-
mal teachers was piano master Bud Powell. McLean's most
significant early band affiliation came during the years 1948-
49, when he joined a Harlem neighborhood band led by
tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins and including pianist
Kenny Drew. McLean's stints with the Miles Davis band,
between 1949-53, yielded his first recording sessions as a
sideman and marked the beginning of what became known
as hard bop, an advanced progression on bebop.
During McLean's busiest period as a sideman in the
1950s, he worked with pianist George Wellington, drummer
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and bassist Charles Mingus.
McLean's first recording as a leader came in 1955, when he
CUl a quintet date lor the Ad Lib label. I lis intense; playing
has lit in well with both hard bop and the avant-garde, two
schools ol jazz in which McLean has experimented.
Throughout the 1960s, McLean continued to work with
his own bands and occasional all-star aggregations, but also
4, 5 and 6,
Original Jazz Classics, 1956
New Soil. Blue Note, 1959
Let Freedom Ring, Blue Note, 1962
The Jackie Mac Attack Live,
Verve, 1991
Nature Boy,
Blue Note, 2000
became more interested in social
issues. In 1959-60 he acted in
the off-Broadway play The
Connection, a cautionary tale
dealing with jazz and the
perils of drug abuse, which
evolved into a 1961 film.
In 1967 he took his music
into prisons, working as
a music instructor and
counselor. Then in 1968, he
moved to Hartford, Connecticut
to take a teaching position at
Hartt College of Music of the
University of Hartford. It was in Hartford
that McLean and his wife Dollie founded the Artists
Collective, a widely hailed combination community
center/fine arts school, primarily aimed at troubled youth.
The Artists Collective opened a beautiful new building in
1999 following years of residence in a former schoolhouse
in one of Hartford's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
At the University of I lartford, McLean established
the school's African American Music Department and
subsequent Jazz Studies degree program, which was
renamed The Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz on November
17, 2000. The program has instructed a number of excep-
tional young jazz musicians, including saxophonist Antoine
Roney, drummer Eric MacPherson, trombonist Steve Davis,
and pianist Alan Palmer,
NE A Jazz Masters 7 1
Marian
MePi
Born March 20, 1918 in Slough, England
am
PIANIST BROADCASTER
Best known as the host of the weekly national radio
program Piano Jazz, Marian McPartland has helped to
popularize jazz with her intricate knowledge and
prowess on the piano. She has made the program one of the
most popular in the history of public radio.
Born to a musical mother who played classical piano,
she studied at the famed Guildhall School of Music
in London. Her first professional activity was as
part of a touring vaudeville act featuring four
pianists. During World War II, she enter-
tained the troops and while playing in
Belgium met her late husband, cornetist
Jimmy McPartland, whom she married
in 1945. They relocated to the U.S. in
1946, whereupon she performed in his
band in Chicago. She formed her first
active trio in 1950 for an engagement at
the limbers in New York. Two years later,
she began what would be an eight-year res-
idency al the Hickory House in New York
with her trio.
In 1963, she worked with the Benny Goodman
Sextet, and in 1965 she began her radio career, at WBAI in
7-
Jazz at the Hickory House,
Jasmine, 1954
Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz
with Guest Bill Evans. Jan Alliance.
Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz
with Guest Jay McShann, Jazz Alliance, 1979
Plays the Benny Carter Songbook,
Concord, 1990
Just Friends, Concord, 1 998
New York. In 1970 she started her own record company.
Halcyon Records, one of the first jazz women to do so. In
1979 she began her weeklv program Piano Jazz, the longest
running syndicated National Public Radio program. An
intimate program involving just her and a guest — usually a
pianist — the program has won numerous awards, including
the Peabody Award. Many of the programs have
been subsequently released on compact disc.
As part of the segments, McPartland would
interview the guest, drawing out colorful
anecdotes and stories about their careers.
The shows also included performances
of McPartland and the guest together.
Taken as a whole, the series presents a
formidable history of jazz.
Her plaving career has also included
piano tours with such greats as Earl
Hines. Teddy Wilson. Ellis Larkins. and
Benny Carter. She has performed with
symphony orchestras and at many of the
major jazz festivals, and has received
numerous awards, including a Down Beat
Lifetime Achievement award in 1997.
978
72 NEA Jazz Masters
VOCALIST PIANIST
cRae
Born April 8. 1920 in New York, NY
Died November 10, 1994
Tender and warm with a ballad, Carmen McRae was
one of the great singers of jazz, finding the depth of
feeling in the lyrics of the songs she interpreted.
An accomplished pianist who in her early career accompa-
nied herself, she occasionally returned to the piano later in
her career.
McRae learned piano through private lessons
and was discovered by Irene Wilson Kitchings,
a musician and former wife of pianist Teddy
Wilson. McRae sang with the Benny
Carter, Count Basie, and Mercer Ellington
big bands during the 1940s and made her
recorded debut as Carmen Clarke while
the wife of drummer Kenny Clarke.
During the bebop revolution at Minton's
Playhouse, McRae was an intermission
pianist, which is likely where she first
heard Tholonious Monk's music, which
influenced her piano playing and musical
sense. In the early 1950s, she worked with the
Mai Mathews Quintet. She signed her first signif-
icant recording contract with Uecca in 1954.
Here to Stay, MCA/GRR 1955-59
Carmen McRae Sings
Great American Songwriters,
MCA/GRR 1955-59
Sings Lover Man
& Other Billie Holiday Classics,
Columbia, 1961
Carmen Sings Monk, Novus, 1988
Sarah — Dedicated to You,
Novus, 1990
Working as a soloist, she gained wide recognition and
was often seen in the pantheon of jazz singers that included
Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, to whom she idolized
and later paid homage on a recording. Her greatest idol was
Billie Holiday, whom she feted on record and in perform-
ances on many occasions. Although she admired these
singers, she never resorted to sheer mimicry and
developed her own original style.
She recorded notably alongside Louis
Armstrong on Dave Brubeck's extended
work The Real Ambassadors, a social
commentary written with his wife Iola.
She made several film and television
appearances, and performed as an
actress in the landmark television series
Roots. In the late 1980s, she returned
to her first love, recording a full album
of Monk's music with lyrics by Jon
Hendricks, Abbey Lincoln, Mike Ferro,
Sally Swisher, and Bernie Hanighen. The
album became one of her signature recordings.
NEA Jazz Masters 73
A
PIANIST VOCALIST BANDLEADER
Born January 12, 1916 in Muskogee, OK
For better or worse, Jay McShann is tied to the legend
of Charlie Parker. Parker's first real professional
work was with McShann 's Kansas City band, and
McShann is credited with helping Parker to hone his
talents. Arguably more important, McShann — along with
Andy Kirk's Clouds of Joy. the Bennie Moten Orchestra
and the great Count Basie bands — shaped and developed
the Kansas City swing sound that was so popular in the
1930s and 1940s.
Known in jazz circles as "Hootie," McShann is for the
most part a self-taught artist, though he did attend Tuskegee
Institute. He developed a piano style that drew heavily on
blues and boogie woogie. McShann's earliest professional
job came with tenor saxophonist Don Byas in 1931.
Following his days at Tuskegee, McShann
played in bands in Oklahoma and Arkansas
prior to joining a trio with bassist Oliver
Todd and drummer Elmer Hopkins in
late 1936 in Kansas City.
in subsequent months, he worked
with alto saxophonist Buster Smith
.ind trumpeter Dee Stewart before
forming a sextet in 1937. In late 1939. McShann put
together his first big band. His recording career commenced
in 1941 with the Decca label, records that often featured
blues singer Walter Brown. McShann's first New York
appearance, at the Savoy Ballroom, came in February 1942.
His band during the height of his popularity included such
notables as Parker, bassist Gene Ramey, drummer Gus
Johnson, and saxophonists Paul Quinichette and Jimmy
Forrest, all of whom McShann used brilliantly as soloists.
Following service in the Army. McShann reformed his
band, which played New York spots and traveled west to
California. Towards the end of the 1940s, McShann's small
band fronted blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon.
In the early 1950s, McShann moved his home base back
to Kansas City, where he continues to reside. In the
tf&O DISCOGh 1970s and 1980s, McShann experienced a bit of a
**►
Blues from Kansas City,
MCA, 1941-43
1944-46, Classics, 1944-46
Vine Street Boogie. Black Lion, 1974
renaissance, with increased recording and per-
forming opportunities, often with Kansas City
violinist Claude "Fiddler" Williams, and he
continues to perform throughout the
Midwest.
A Tribute to Charlie Parker,
Music Masters, 1989
Hootie!,
Chiaroscuro, 1997
74 NEA Jazz Masters
SAXOPHONIST FLUTIST VOCALIST EDUCATOR
y
Born March 26, 1925 in Savannah, GA
One of the surviving champions of Dizzy Gillespie's
music, James Moody is an accomplished musician
on the tenor and alto saxophones, as well as the
flute, despite being born partially deaf. In addition to his
instrumental prowess, Moody is an engaging entertainer,
captivating audiences with his personal charm and wit.
Although born in Savannah, he was raised in
#
iP
Newark, New Jersey. His interest in jazz was
sparked by a trumpet-playing father who
gigged in the Tiny Bradshaw band, and he
took up the alto sax, a gift from his uncle,
at the age of 16. His first musical training
came in the Air Force, and after leaving
the service in 1946 he joined the Dizzy
Gillespie big band, staying until 1948.
Gillespie became his musical mentor. In
1949, he moved to Paris for three years,
often playing with visiting American musi-
cians, including the Tadd Dameron-Miles
Davis band.
In Sweden he recorded his famous improvi-
sation on "I'm in the Mood For Love" in 1949. playing
on an alto saxophone instead of his usual tenor. I lis solo
was later set to lyrics by Eddie Jefferson and recorded by
King Pleasure, known as "Moody's Mood for Love," becoming
a surprise nil in 1952. Throughoul the rest of his career,
Moody would be more known lor the vocal version oi the
song based on his solo than for the instrumentaJ version
C ^D DISCOq/j,
itself, and obliged requests for the song by singing his
famous solo.
Through the 1950s and 1960s, he led his own bands, and
worked alongside other saxophonists, notably Gene Ammons
and Sonny Stitt, with whom he co-led a three-tenor sax band.
In 1963 he returned to the Dizzy Gillespie small group,
where he largely remained until 1971. In 1975,
«P.
^
James Moody and His Swedish
Crowns, Dragon, 1949
Last Train from Overbrook,
GRP/Chess. 1954-55
Moody's Panj[e\atc, 1995
Moody Plays Mancini,
Warner Brothers, 1997
Homage,
Savoy Jazz, 2003
he moved to Las Vegas and worked numerous
hotel and casino shows with singers and
comics, picking up the clarinet along the
way In 1979, he left Las Vegas and
moved back to New York to lead his
own quintet.
Then in 1989 he moved to San
Diego, working as a consummate soloist
and member of all-star touring units. In
the 1990s, he teamed up again with his
lifelong friend Dizzy Gillespie to tour
Europe and the United States as a member
of the l Inited Nations Orchestra. He continues
to tour worldwide and experiment with his
music, sometimes including synthesizers and strings
on his recordings. He is sought-after on college and university
campuses for master classes, workshops, and Lectures, and
has received honorary doctoral degrees from the Florida
Memorial College and the Berk lee College of Music, In 1997.
he played an acting role in the Clint Hast wood lilni Midnight
in the (kirdan of (iood and Evil.
NEA Jazz Mastei-s 75
Born October 18, 1919 in Chicago, IL
Anita O'Day's unique sound and swinging rhythmic
sense put her in the upper echelon of jazz singers,
as skillful with ballads as with scatting and liberal
interpretations of standard songs. Her career spans the late
swing and bebop eras, inspiring many singers who followed
her, such as June Christy, Chris Connor, and Helen
Merrill. She began her performing career as
tion until 1943. In 1944 she joined Stan Kenton's band.
She then re-joined Krupa in 1945, remaining there until
1946, when she began a solo career. In the mid-1950s she
made a few notable albums for the Verve label, demonstrat-
ing the power of her vocals.
In 1958 her appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival,
replete with characteristic big hat, caused a sensation.
a ballroom dance contest winner in the <$& ^^ ^ e provided one of the highlights of the subse-
rment film i
1930s, which is when she adopted the
stage name O'Day. At 19, she began
singing professionally in clubs
around Chicago.
In 1941 she joined Gene
Krupa's big band, recording a
memorable duet with Roy Eldridge
on "Let Me Off Uptown," one of the
first interracial vocal duets on
record. She also may have been the
first feminist big band singer, refusing
to appeal in the standard gown and
gloves, instead opting for band jacket and
short skirt. She stayed with the Krupa organiza
The Complete Recordings, 1949-50,
Baldwin Street Music, 1949-50
Swings Cole Porter with Billy May,
Verve, 1552-59
Anita Sings the Winners,
Verve, 1956-62
Anita Sings the Most, Verve, 1 957
Rules of the Road, Pablo, 1993
quent film of the festival, Jazz on a Summer's
Day. From that point on she worked mainly on
the club circuit with her own groups.
Always a hit in Japan, she made her first
tour there in 1964, returning on several occa-
sions. Frustrated with record label indiffer-
ence to her artistry, she developed her own
record labels. In the 1980s and 1990s, she
continued to work the club and jazz festival
circuits, including a concert at Carnegie Hall in
1985 to celebrate her 50 years in jazz and notable
performances at the Vine Street Bar & Grill in Los
Angeles in 1992.
76 NEA Jazz Masters
^ ^iJ
■
Max
DRUMMER COMPOSER BANDLEADER
Roach
Born January 10, 1924 in New Land, NC
Max Roach is one of the two leading drummers of
the bebop era (along with Kenny Clarke) and has
remained one of the leading musicians, com-
posers, and bandleaders in jazz ever since the 1940s. His
often biting political commentary and strong intellect, not to
mention his rhythmic innovations, have kept him at the
vanguard of jazz for more than 50 years.
Roach grew up in a household where gospel music was
quite prominent. His mother was a gospel singer and he
began drumming in a gospel ensemble at age 10. Roach's
formal study of music took him to the Manhattan School of
Music. In 1942, he became house drummer at Monroe's
Uptown House, enabling him to play and interact with some
of the giants of the bebop era, such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy
Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell. Roach would
later record with Parker, Gillespie, Powell, and bassist
Charles Mingus at the historic Massey Hall concert in 1953.
Throughout the 1940s, Roach continued to branch out in
his playing, drumming with Benny Carter, Stan Getz, Allen
Eager, and Miles Davis. In 1952, he and Mingus collabo-
rated to create their own record label, Debut Records.
In 1954, Roach began a short-lived but crucial band with
incendiary trumpeter Clifford Brown. This historic: band,
which ended abruptly with Brown's tragic death in 1956,
also included saxophonists Harold Land and Sonny Rollins.
In the late 1950s, Roach began adding political commen-
tary to his recordings, starting with Deeds Not Words. I in I
coming into sharper focus with We Insist! Freedom Now Suite
#
^PDISCOO,
*1
>
Clifford Brown and Max Roach,
At Basin Steet, EmArcy, 1956
We Insist! Freedom Now Suite,
Candid, 1960
M'Boom, Columbia, 1979
To The Max, Rhino, 1990-91
Explorations to the Mth Degree,
Slam, 1994
in 1960, on which he collabo-
rated with singer-lyricist
Oscar Brown, Jr. From
then on he has been an
eloquent spokesman in
the area of racial and
political justice.
Roach continued to
experiment with his
sound, eschewing the use
of the piano or other chord-
ing instruments in his bands
for the most part from the late
1960s on. His thirst for experimenta-
tion has led to collaborations with seemingly disparate;
artists, including duets with saxophonist Anthony Braxton
and pianist Cecil Taylor, as well as partnerships with
pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and saxophonist Archie; Shepp.
As a drum soloist he; has few peers in terms of innova-
tions, stemming from his deeply personal sound and
approach. His proclivities in the area of multiethnic percus-
sion have flowered with his intermittent percussion ensem-
ble M'Boom, founded in 1970. A broad-based percussionist
who was a pioneer in establishing a fixed pulse on the ride
cymbal instead of the bass drum, Roach has also collabo-
rated with voice, string, and brass ensembles, lectured on
college i ampuses extensively, and composed music for
dance, theater, film, and television.
NEA Jazz Mastei*s 77
Rollins
Born September 7, 1930 in New York, NY
SAXOPHONIST COMPOSER
With more than 50 years in jazz, Sonny Rollins' tow-
ering achievements on the tenor saxophone are
many, and he continues to be one of the most
exciting and fiery players in concert. Inspired by the exam-
ple of his brother's pursuit of music, Rollins began piano les-
sons at age nine. At 14 he picked up the alto saxophone,
and switched to the tenor two years later. Soon he was play-
ing dances in a band of youngsters in his New York commu-
nilv. which included Jackie McLean, Kenny Drew, and Art
Taylor. Rollins' first recording was made alongside the bop
singer Babs Gonzales in 1949. Later that year he played at
sessions with J. }. Johnson and Bud Powell, recording his
song "Audubon" with Johnson.
In the 1950s, Rollins began by serving as a sideman on
sessions with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Art Farmer,
and the Modern Jazz Quartet. In late 1955, while living in
Chicago, he began one of his most fruitful band affiliations
when he stood in for Harold Land in the superb Clifford
Brown-Max Roach Quintet al (he Bee Hive club. He
remained a regular member until Brown's tragic June 1956
death from an auto accident.
Rollins continued to record, mainly for Prestige, where
his output was some of the finest music recorded in the
mid-1950s on anj label. Among his recorded highlights
during this period were Tenor Madness, which included an
eni ounter with John Coltrane; Saxophone Colossus, a
sparkling album that introduced his most noted composi-
tion, "St. Thomas," which honored his parents' Virgin
Islands roots; and Way Out West, which took seemingly
mundane songs like "I'm an Old Cowhand" and spun them
out with extraordinary improvisations.
By 1959, Rollins had grown impatient with the vagaries
of the jazz scene and took a hiatus. He would often practice
his horn deep into the night on the upper reaches of the
Williamsburg Bridge, which crosses the East River from
Manhattan to Brooklyn. In 1961 he returned to the scene,
refreshed and playing better than ever. He made a series of
recordings for the RCA label with musicians such as Jim
Hall, Don Cherry. Billy Higgins. and Herbie Hancock, and
also began his long-term employment of bassist Bob
Cranshaw.
In London in 1966, he composed and recorded a sound-
track album for the film Alfie for the Impulse! label, which
brought him some popularity beyond jazz
audiences. By 1968 Rollins again
required a break from the scene,
returning in 1971. He has been
playing and growing ever
>
since, continuing his long
affiliation with the Fantasy
Family of labels (including
Prestige and Milestone) and
working almost exclusively
on concert stages. Sonny
Rollins' recordings have con-
tinued to reflect his interest in
Caribbean rhythms, particularly
the calypso.
Saxophone Colossus,
Original Jazz Classics. 1956
A Night at the Village Vanguard.
Blue Note, 1957
The Complete R&Wictor Recordings.
RCA Victor, 1962-64
Silver City. Milestone, 1972-95
Without A Song: The 9/1 1 Concert.
Milestone, 2001
78 NEA Jazz Masters
George
COMPOSER ARRANGER THEORETICIAN PIANIST DRUMMER
Russell
Bom June 23, 1923 in Cincinnati, OH
George Russell is first and foremost a composer rather
than an instrumentalist, and is one of the most
important jazz theorists of the latter half of the 20th
century. He first expressed himself musically on the drums
in the drum and bugle corps. After high school, Russell
attended Wilberforce University, where he found gigs
playing drums at local clubs. Russell's study of
composing and arranging increased while he
was bedridden with a case of tuberculosis at
19. It was during this time that he began
formulating his unprecedented musical
theorems.
While his first arrangements were for
the A.B Townsend Orchestra, a Cincinnati
dance band, Russell's initial major band
affiliation was as a drummer with Benny
Carter. Later he found work arranging
with the Earl Hinos band. His first major
score was "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop," an
Afro-Cuban piece written for the; Dizzy
Gillespie big band. Russell followed that wilh
charts for Lee Konitz ("Ezz-thetic" and "Odjenar") and
Buddy DeFranco ("A Bird in Igor's Yard"). He continued
his advanced composition study with Stefan VVolpe. I lis
theory, 'The Lydicin Chromatic: Concept of Tonal Organization
was eventually published in hook form in the mid-1950s.
Russell's concept involves a composition system based on
using the Lydian scale, rather than the major scale, as the
basis for analysis and composition.
Music theoreticians hailed this as a breakthrough, being
perhaps the first major contribution by a jazz musician to
the field of musical theory. Russell's continued refinement
and study of this concept eventually led him to academia
when he taught at the Lenox School of Jazz during 1958-59.
In the meantime, his theories on modes influenced Miles
Davis and Bill Evans (who studied with Russell), leading to
the creation of Davis' masterpiece, Kind of Blue. In the
early 1960s, Russell led several small groups,
which included musicians such as Eric
Dolphy and David Baker, and made some
significant recordings before moving to
Scandinavia. There he continued to
refine his theories and work with
Scandinavian musicians, among them
Jan Carbarek and Terje Rypdal, before
returning to the U.S. in 1969. That year
he took a teaching position at New
England Conservatory of Music at the
invitation of then president Gunther
Schuller. In the late 1970s, Russell formed
big bands to play his music, creating his
Living Time Orchestra in 1978. The Orchestra
makes frequent tours of Europe, including residencies
at the Perugia Jazz festival.
In addition to teaching and lecturing at other
conservatories and universities, Russell has been the
recipient of numerous awards, honors, and grants, including
an NEA Composition fellowship, a MacArthur award, two
Guggenheim fellowships, and election to the Royal Swedish
Academy. Russell published the revised and expanded
edition of his Lydian Chromatil Concept in 2001.
NEA Jazz Masters 79
Jazz Workshop, RCA Victor, 1956
New York, NY, Impulse!, 1958
Ezz-Thetics, Original Jazz Classics, 1961
The African Game, Blue Note, 1983
The 80th Birthday Concert,
Concept, 2003
■Jfc§**V
T*V5
■*»"■
i-
■^
Artie
Shaw
Bom May 23, 1910 in New York, NY
Died December 30, 2004
CLARINETIST BANDLEADER COMPOSER ARRANGER
<ffi
Self Portrait, Bluebird/RCA, 1936-54
Begin theBeguine, Bluebird/RCA, 1938-41
The Complete Gramercy Five Sessions,
Bluebird/RCA, 1940-45
Artie Shaw at the Hollywood Palladium,
HEP, 1941
The Last Recordings: Rare and
Unreleased, Music Masters,
1954
Immensely popular and star-
tlingly innovative, Artie Shaw
rose to prominence in the
1930s as a swing band leader,
master clarinetist, and bound-
ary-crossing artist, who infused
jazz with the influences of
modem European composers.
Born in 1910, he left his
native New Haven, Connecticut,
at age 15 to tour as a jazz musician.
Though based in Cleveland, where he
wrote his first arrangements for bandleader
Austin Wylie, he later made important road trips with Irving
Aaronson's band. The band took him to Chicago, where he
played in jam sessions and first heard recordings by
Stravinsky and Debussy. Next, in 1929, the Aaronson band
brought him to New York, where he played in Harlem jam
sessions and came under the influence of Willie "The Lion"
Smith. I lo decided to stay on and at age 21 became one of
New York's most successful reed players for radio and
re< ording sessions.
I Ee in, nlc liis breakthrough in his first appearance as a
I'lir at a 1936 swing concert at Broadway's Imperial
Theater. To fill .i spot between headliners, be performed his
chambei < omposition "Interlude in B Flat," scored for string
quartet, three rhythm instruments, and clarinet, which ere-
\
>
ated a sensation. He then added two trumpets, trom-
bone, saxophone, and a singer, signed a recording
contract, and led his first orchestra into New
York's Lexington Hotel. During 1938. with a more
conventional swing band line-up (which briefly
included Billie Holiday as vocalist), he recorded
Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine," which pro-
pelled him to die forefront of big band leaders.
After die United States entered World War II.
Artie Shaw enlisted in the Navy and was soon lead-
ing a service band drroughout die Pacific war zone.
Upon returning stateside, he organized a new band in
1944, widi which he toured and made recordings drat
included the classic "Little Jazz." featuring Roy Eldridge on
trumpet. Over the next 10 years. Artie Shaw worked in
Hollywood, toured extensively (including appearances at
Carnegie Hall and a performance of Mozart's Clarinet
Concerto with Leonard Bernstein and the New York
Philharmonic), and continued to record, both with his big
bands and with a small group named Gramercy Five.
Although he retired from music in 1954. Artie Shaw
continued to enjoy popularity through his recordings and
also through a big band fronted by Dick Johnson bearing
Artie Shaw's name. 'Hie library of the University of Arizona
holds his collection of scores.
80 NEA Jazz Mastere
SAXOPHONIST COMPOSER
Shorter
Born August 25, 1933 in Newark, NJ
Equally renowned for his compositions as for his saxo-
phone playing, Wayne Shorter has contributed many
songs to the jazz canon while participating in some of
the major changes in jazz music over the last 40 years, and
has received six Grammy Awards for his recordings.
Shorter's musical pursuits started on the clarinet, at age
16, evolving to the tenor saxophone soon thereafter. Shorter
majored in music education at New York University from
1956-58, working for a short while with Horace Silver in
1956. After serving in the Army, he joined Maynard
Ferguson's band for a couple of months in 1959, followed by
one of his most fruitful jobs: playing with Art Blakey's Jazz
Messengers. He remained in the Messengers until 1964,
establishing himself as both composer and saxophonist, and
began making his own records, first for Vee Jay, then for the
Blue Note label. His three releases for Blue Note in 1964,
Night Dreamer, fuju, and Speak No Evil, are considered the
quintessential Blue Note sound: sophisticated structures and
rhythms, strong melodies, exceptional playing.
He left Blakey in 1964 to assume another productive
affiliation with the Miles Davis Quintet, where he remained
until 1970. While with Davis, he further solidified his posi-
tion as one of the most intriguing composers of his time,
contributing tunes such as "Nefertili," "fall," "ESP,"
"Paraphernalia," and "Sanctuary." He also developed his
sound, a mixture of technique and emotion, able lo find the
appropriate mood in his playing to 111 the song. During the
latter stages of his Davis tenure, he took up the soprano sax-
ophone, which thereafter often became his principle horn.
In 1971 he and pianist Joe Zawinul, who also had been
part of Davis' recording sessions in the late-1960s to early-
1970s, formed one of the pioneering jazz fusion bands,
Weather Report. The band stayed together for 15 years
through several different permutations, engaging electronics
and numerous ethnic influences and furthering Shorter's repu-
tation as a composer. The band scored a major hit, "Birdland,"
in 1977 on their bestselling record, Heavy Weather.
After the breakup of Weather Report he made occasional
recordings and tours, continuing to mine the influences he
felt from other musical cultures and continuing to write
intriguing music. He is a major influence
on the generations of musicians
who have entered the scene
since the 1970s. In 2001, Ik;
began touring and releasing
recordings with a new
quartet comprising Danilo
Perez on piano, John
Patitucci on bass, and
Brian Blade on drums.
Shorter, who originally
studied as a visual artist,
continues lo pursue the
visual arts as well as milsii
Speak No Evil, Blue Note, 1964
Miles Davis, Miles Smiles, Columbia, 1966
Weather Report, Live in Tokyo,
Columbia, 1972
Herbie Hancock/Wayne Shorter, h 1.
Verve, 1997
Alegria. Verve, 2003
NEA Jazz Mastei-s 81
orace
liver
Born September 2, 1928 in Norwalk, CT
PIANIST COMPOSER
c$
Horace Silver was the heart of the hard bop era, help-
ing to form the influential Jazz Messengers and com
posing many blues and gospel-flavored songs that
have become part of the jazz canon, including "Lonely
Woman," "Song For My Father," "Senor Blues," "The
Preacher," "Nica's Dream," and "Peace." His
piano playing is heavily rhythmic, driving his
musical colleagues to greater heights in
their solos.
Silver was exposed to music at an
early age. hearing Cape Verde Islands
folk music from his father. Silver later
used the island rhythms and flavor to
great effect on his 1960s albums Song
For My Father and Cape Verdean Blues.
He took up the saxophone and piano in
high school, and was influenced early on by
th(! blues of Memphis Slim, various boogie
woogie piano players, and the bebop pianists
Bud Powell .md Thelonious Monk. After a 1950
stint backing guest soloist Stan Getz on a gig in Hartford.
I lonnei ii< ut, Silver was enlisted by Getz to join him on tour
for the next year. Getz recorded three of Silver's earliest
< (impositions. ■'Split Kick." "Potter's Luck." and "Penny."
In L951, lie moved to New York and quickly found work
with Coleman Hawkins, Bill Harris, Oscar Pettiford. Lester
Young, and Art Blakey. In 1952, as a result of a Lou
Donaldson record session, he began what became a 28-year
relationship with the Blue Note label. Between 1953-55 he
played in a band called the Jazz Messengers, co-led
*$D DISCogc, by Blakey. The band was at the forefront of the
hard bop movement that followed bebop. By
1956, Silver formed his own band and
Blakey maintained the Jazz Messengers
name as his own. Both Silver's band and
the Jazz Messengers turned out to be
proving grounds for a number of excep-
tional, aspiring musicians. Among
those who passed through his band
were Art Farmer. Donald Byrd. Joe
Henderson. Blue Mitchell. Charles
Tolliver. Stanley Turrentine. Woody Shaw,
and Randy and Michael Brecker. Silver's
terse, funky playing has influenced pianists as
disparate as Herbie Hancock and Cecil Taylor. For
several years in the 1980s, he recorded on his own Silveto
label, writing lyrics to his compositions with a decidedly
metaphysical bent. In the 1990s, he returned to the hard
bop sound he helped create.
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers,
Blue Note, 1954
Blowin' the Blues Away, Blue Note, 1 959
Song For My Father, Blue Note, 1964
Cape Verdean Blues, Blue Note, 1 965
The Hardbop Grandpop, GBP, 1996
82 NEA Jazz Masters
ORGANIST
Smith
Born December 8, 1928 in Norristown, PA
Died February 8, 2005
Jimmy Smith personified the jazz organ revolution. He
raised the organ — specifically the legendary Hammond
B3, over which he reigned during the 1950s and 1960s-
irom a novelty instrument in jazz to primary status.
Having first learned piano from his parents in his native
Norristown, Pennsylvania, he was playing stride piano by
14 and performing with his father by the early 1940s. He
joined the Navy at age 15 and after discharge attended the
Hamilton School of Music (1948) and Omstein's School of
Music (1949-50), where he studied bass and piano. He
then switched to the Hammond organ, woodshed-
ding in a warehouse for a year.
Inspired by the great horn players of the
day — Don Byas, Arnett Cobb, Coleman
Hawkins — as well as by pianists Art Tatum,
Erroll Garner, and Bud Powell, he cut the
tremolo off and began playing horn lines
with his right hand. He also created a new
organ registration to simulate Garner's
sound, establishing the standard for jazz
organists who would follow.
Jimmy Smith's burgeoning reputation soon
took him to New York, where he debuted al Cafe
Bohemia. His fame grew with his influential Blue
S>
i?
Note recordings (1956-63), including brilliant collaborations
with Kenny Burrell, Lou Donaldson, Jackie McLean, Wes
Montgomery, Lee Morgan, Ike Quebec, and Stanley
Turrentine. His appearances at Birdland and the 1957
Newport Jazz Festival solidified his international promi-
nence as the first jazz organ star.
He toured extensively through the 1960s and 1970s and
continued to release hit albums, this time on Verve (1963-
72), including several big band recordings with such stellar
arrangers as Oliver Nelson and Lalo Schifrin. His
reputation in the 1990s was enhanced by the
M*»
A New Sound, A New Star: Jimmy Smith
at the Organ, Vols. 1-2, Blue Note, 1956
The Sermon!, Blue Note, 1958
Root Down, Verve, 1972
Fourmost, Milestone, 1990
Dot Com Blues, Verve, 2000
sampling of his Verve work by rap group
the Beastie Boys on the song "Root
Down."
He recorded for the Blue Note and
Milestone labels in the late 1980s
through the 1990s, and in 2001
released his first new recording after
a live-year layoff: Dot Com Blues,
which featured guest appearances by
Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Etta James, Keb'
Mo', and B.B. King.
NKA JaiK Mastei-s 83
*t '
Sun
Ra
KEYBOARDIST COMPOSER ARRANGER BANDLEADER
Born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, AL
Died May 30, 1993
Sun Ra was one of the most unusual musicians in the
history of jazz, moving from Fletcher Henderson swing
to free jazz with ease, sometimes in the same song.
Portraying himself as a product of outer space, he "traveled
the spaceways" with a colorful troupe of musicians, using a
multitude of percussion and unusual instrumentation, from
tree drum to celeste.
Sun Ra, who enjoyed cloaking his origins and develop-
ment in mystery, is known to have studied piano early on
with Lula Randolph in Washington, DC. His first noted pro-
fessional job was during 1946-47 as pianist with the Fletcher
Henderson Orchestra at the Club DeLisa on the South Side
of Chicago. In addidon to playing piano in the
band he also served as one of die staff
arrangers. Finding his calling as an
arranger, he put together a band
to play his compositions. In
the 1950s, he began issuing
recordings of his unusual
music on his Saturn label,
becoming one of the first
jazz musicians to record
and sell his own albums.
Sun Ra's band became a
central part of the early avant-
garde jazz movement in
( ihicago, being one of the first
jazz bands to employ electronic
The Singles, Evidence, 1954-82
Jazz in Silhouette. Evidence, 1958
The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra,
Vol ; * ^ ESP. 1965
Space is the Place. Evidence, 1972
Purple Night. b&M. 1989
instruments (as early as 1956), including electric piano,
clavioline, celeste, and synthesizers. In 1960, he moved his
band to New York, where he established a communal home
for his musicians, known as The Sun Palace. In March
1966, the band began one of its most significant residencies,
playing every Monday night at Slug's nightclub on New
York's Lower East Side.
By the 1970s, the Sun Ra Arkestra and its various per-
mutations began touring Europe extensively. His band had
by then expanded to include singers, dancers, martial arts
practitioners, film, and colorful, homemade costumes,
becoming a true multimedia attraction. Their performances
would often stretch on for hours, including hypnotic, chant-
ing processionals through the audience. Sun Ra's global fol-
lowing had become significant, though his recordings had
become sporadic. His arrangements of his songs, however,
were among the best in jazz. He made excellent use of
his soloists, especially the great tenor saxophonist John
Gilmore. alto saxophonist Marshall Allen, and baritone
saxophonist Pat Patrick, all of whom were with the Arkestra
on and off for decades.
An outsider who linked die African American experi-
ence with ancient Egyptian mythology and outer space. Sun
Ra was years ahead of all other avant-garde musicians in his
experimentation with sound and instruments, a pioneer in
group improvisations and the use of electric, instruments in
jazz. Since Sun Ra's death, the Arkestra has continued to
perform under the direction of Allen.
84 NEA Jazz Masters
PIANIST COMPOSER EDUCATOR BROADCASTER
Bom July 24, 1921 in Greenville, NC
Although well respected for his tasteful, non-intrusive
accompaniment as a sideman, Billy Taylor is known
for his championing of jazz music, especially
through his various broadcasting and educational ventures.
After growing up in Washington, DC and studying music
at Virginia State College, where he earned a degree in Music
in 1942, Taylor moved to New York. He spent the 1940s
frequently playing the clubs on New York's famed 52nd
Street, performing with greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy
Gillespie, Ben Webster, Stuff Smith, Machito, Slam Stewart,
and Don Redman. His adroit abilities enabled him to freely
cross over from swing to the then-burgeoning modern jazz
called bebop.
In the 1950s, he served as the ideal sideman, finding
work with Roy Eldridge, Oscar Pettiford, and Lee Konitz
while employed as house pianist at Birdland in 1951.
Beginning in 1952 he became a bandleader,
primarily heading trios with bass and drums
Taylor started in radio with a program
in the 1960s on WLIB in New York. From
1969-72 he was house bandleader for the
David Frost television show, and in the
1970s also served as host-director of
the NPR syndicated Jazz Alive radio
series. Since 1981, Taylor has profiled
some of the biggest names in jazz as
an interviewer and reporter for CBS
television's Sunday Morning program.
CtSDDISCOo^
%■
Cross-Section.
Original Jazz Classics, 1953-54
My Fair Lady Loves Jazz, Impulse!, 1965
White Nights and Jazz in Leningrad,
Taylor-Made Music, 1988
Its a Matter of Pride, GRP, 1993
Live at the IAJE, New York,
Soundpost, 2001
As a jazz educator, Taylor's experience has been vast,
starting with authoring a series of beginning piano primers.
He was a founder of New York's successful Jazzmobile com-
munity performance and school-without-walls, beginning in
1965. He earned his doctorate in Music at the University of
Massachusetts in 1975, with a dissertation on The History
and Development of Jazz Piano: A New Perspective for
Educators. Taylor has subsequently taught at Yale,
Manhattan School of Music, Howard University, University
of California, Fredonia State University, and C.W. Post
College. His experience at the University of Massachusetts
led to a lead faculty position at the university's annual sum-
mer intensive. Jazz in July.
As a composer he has written a number of commis-
sioned works, his most well known composition being "I
Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free." In the 1990s,
Billy Taylor became artistic director of the Jazz at the
Kennedy Center program in his adopted home-
town, Washington, DC. from which emanated
his syndicated NPR radio series, Bill)
Taylor's jazz at the Kennedy Center. I [e has
also served Oil the Nh'A's National Council
on the Arts. Taylor worked with the
National Endowment for the Arts as chair-
man of the advisory group for a research
project thai studied the financial condition
and needs of jazz artists in four cities: New
York, Detroit, New Oilcans, and San
Francisco.
NEA Jazz Masters 85
PIANIST COMPOSER
Born March 15, 1929 in New York, NY
Cecil Taylor is one of the most uncompromisingly
gifted pianists in jazz history, utilizing a nearly over-
whelming orchestral facility on the piano. While his
work has elicited controversy almost from the start, Taylor's
artistic vision has never swayed.
At his mother's urging he began piano studies at age
five. He later studied percussion, which undoubtedly influ-
enced his highly percussive keyboard style. At age 23 he
studied at the New England Conservatory, concentrating on
piano and music theory. He immersed himself in 20th
century classical composers, including Stravinsky, and
found sustenance for his jazz proclivities in the work
of Lennie Tristano and Dave Brubeck. Later Duke
Ellington. Thelonious Monk, and Horace
Silver began to influence his playing. By
1956 he was working as a professional,
taking a prolonged engagement at New
York's Five Spot Cafe, recording his first
album, Jazz Advance, and making his
Newport Jazz Festival debut.
Playing in the manner he did — an
aggressive style of almost assaulting the
piano, sometimes breaking keys and
strings — presented challenges in terms of
rinding stead) work. Taylor struggled to
for most of the 1950s and 1960s,
despite being recognized by Down Beat magazine
&
r «&V> DISCOge,
Jazz Advance, Blue Note, 1956
3Phasis. New World, 1978
ForOlim. Soul Note, 1986
Alms/Tiegarten.mP, 1988
The Willisau Concert, Intakt, 2000
in its "New Star" poll category. He eventually found work
overseas, touring Scandinavian countries during die winter
of 1962-63 with his trio, including Jimmy Lyons on alto
saxophone, and Sunny Murray on drums. His approach
had evolved to incorporate clusters and a dense rhythmic
sensibility, coupled with sheer physicality that often found
him addressing the keyboard with open palms, elbows and
forearms. His solo piano recordings are some of the most
challenging and rewarding to listen to in all of jazz.
Controversy has continued to follow him throughout
his career. Fortunately, his work as a pianist and composer
gained much-needed momentum in die 1970s and
beyond, as touring and recording opportunities
increased, largely overseas, though finding reg-
ular work for his uncompromising style of
music still remains a struggle. Throughout
his career, he has worked with many
important, like-minded musicians,
including Archie Shepp. Albert Ayler.
Steve Lacy, Sam Rivers. Max Roach, the
Art Ensemble of Chicago, and a host of
European and Scandinavian musicians.
His influence on the avant-garde, espe-
cially of the 1960s and 1970s, in terms of
performance and composition is enormous.
f>
86 NEA Jazz Masters
Clark
TRUMPETER FLUGELHORNIST VOCALIST EDUCATOR
Terry
Born December 14, 1920 in St. Louis, MO
Clark Terry is the consummate freelance musician, able
to add a distinctive element to whatever band or jam
session of which he is a part. His exuberant, swing-
ing horn playing was an important contribution to two of
the greatest big bands in jazz, Count Basie's and Duke
of the first African American musicians employed in a tele-
vision house band — he came to prominence through his
popular "Mumbles" persona, his unique way of mumbling a
scat vocal solo. He worked and recorded with artists such
as J.J. Johnson, Oscar Peterson, and Ella Fitzgerald,
#
S?
Ellington's. In addition, his use of the flugelhom
as an alternative to trumpet influenced Art
Farmer and Miles Davis, among others.
In high school, Terry took up the valve
trombone, later playing the bugle with
the Tom Powell Drum and Bugle Corps.
Upon his discharge in 1945, he found
work with Lionel Hampton's band. He
rounded out the 1940s playing with
bands led by Charlie Barnet, Eddie
"Cleanhead" Vinson, Charlie Ventura, and
George Hudson. From 1948-51, Terry was a
member of Basie's big band and octet.
Terry's reputation grew with Ellington's
band, with whom he worked from 1951-59, often
featured as a soloist on trumpet and Qugelhoin. He also led
his own recording dates during this time. After working
with Quincy Jones in 1959-60, he found steady work as a
Freelance studio artist, eventualh becoming a stafl musii ian
at NBC. As a member of I be Tonight Show orchestra — one
(jtB D DISCOo^
•4/*
Duke with a Difference,
Original Jazz Classics, 1957
In Orbit, Original Jazz Classics, 1958
Mellow Moods, Prestige, 1961-62
The Clark Terry Spacemen, Chiaroscuro, 1976
One-on-One, Chesky Jazz, 2000
then co-led a quintet with Bob Brookmeyer.
Thereafter he led his own small and large
bands, including his Big Bad Band, begin-
ning in 1972. He also became part of
Norman Granz's traveling all-stars, Jazz
at the Philharmonic.
As a jazz educator he was one of the
earliest active practitioners to take time
off from the road to enter the classroom,
conducting numerous clinics and jazz
camps. This work culminated in his own
music school at Teikyo Westmar University
in Le Mars, Iowa. A distinctive stylist on his
horns, he is also a consummate entertainer,
often alternating trumpet and flugelhom in a solo
duel with himself in concerts. He continues to play in both
the U.S. and Europe, recording and performing in a wide
variety of settings, such as the One-on-One recording of
duels with 14 different pianists.
NEA Jazz Ma-stei-s 87
McCoy
Tyner
Born December 11, 1938 in Philadelphia, PA
PIANIST COMPOSER
&
McCoy Tyner's powerful, propulsive style of piano
playing was an integral part of the John Coltrane
Quartet in the early 1960s and influenced count-
less musicians that followed him. His rich chord clusters
continue to be copied by many young jazz pianists.
Growing up in Philadelphia, Tyner's neighbors were
jazz musicians Richie and Bud Powell, who were
very influential to his piano playing. Studying
music at the West Philadelphia Music
School and later at the Granoff School of
Music, Tyner began playing gigs in his
teens, and first met Coltrane while per-
forming at a local club called the Red
Rooster at age 17. His first important
professional gig was with the Benny
Golson - Art Farmer band Jazztet in
1959. with whom he made his
recording debut.
Soon he began working with Coltrane, a
relationship that produced some of the most
influential music in jazz. From 1960-65, Tvner
played a major role in the success of the Coltrane
irtel (which included Elvin Jones on drums and
jimmy Garrison on bass), using rich-textured harmonies
as rhythmic devices against Coltrane's "sheets of sound"
saxophone playing.
^DDISCOG^
*1
>
John Coltrane, My Favorite Things,
Atlantic, 1960
The Real McCoy. Blue Note, 1 967
Sahara. Original Jazz Classics, 1972
Remembering John, Enja, 1991
Land of Giants Je\m. 2002
After leaving the quartet, Tyner demonstrated his
tremendous melodic and rhythmic flair for composition on
such albums as The Real McCoy, which featured "Passion
Dance," "Contemplation," and "Blues on the Corner," and
Sahara, which featured "Ebony Queen" and the title track.
Tyner has continued to experiment with his sound, push-
ing rhythms and tonalities to the limit, his flutter-
ing right hand creating a cascade of notes. In
particular, he has explored the trio form,
recording with a series of different bassists
and drummers, such as Ron Carter. Art
Davis, Stanley Clarke. Elvin Jones. Tony
Williams, and Al Foster. In the 1980s, he
recorded with a singer for the first time.
Phylis Hyman.
In Uie 1990s, he led a big band in new
arrangements of previously recorded songs,
used Latin American rhythms and forms,
and revealed the romantic side of his playing
with a surprising album of Burt Bacharach
songs. While experimenting with his sound.
Tyner has eschewed the use of electric pianos, preferring
the warm sound of an acoustic piano, and earned four
Grammy Awards for his recordings. A dynamic performer
in live settings. Tyner has continued to tour steadily with
his excellent, longtime trio: Avery Sharpe on bass and
Aaron Scott on drums.
88 NEA Jazz Masters
VOCALIST PIANIST
The power, range, and flexibility of her voice made
Sarah Vaughan, known as "Sassy" or "The Divine
One," one of the great singers in jazz. With her rich,
controlled tone and vibrato, she could create astounding
performances on jazz standards, often adding bop-oriented
phrasing. Along with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald,
Vaughan helped popularize the art of jazz singing, influenc-
ing generations of vocalists following her.
Vaughan began singing at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in
her native Newark, and started extensive piano lessons at
age seven. Winner of the amateur contest at the Apollo
Theatre, Vaughan was hired by Earl Hines for his big band
as a second pianist and singer on the recommendation of
Billy Eckstine in 1943. She joined Eckstine's band in
1944-45, and made the first recording under her own
name in December 1944.
After leaving Eckstine, Sarah worked briefly in the
John Kirby band, and thereafter was primarily a vocal
soloist. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie often sang
her praises, assisting her in gaining recognition, particu-
larly in musicians' circles. They worked with her on a
May 25, 1945 session as well, which was highlighted by
her vocal version of Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia," called
"Interlude" on the album. Her first husband, trumpeter-
Vaughan
Born March 27, 1924 in Newark, NJ
Died April 3, 1990
bandleader George Treadwell, helped re-make her "look"
and she began to work and record more regularly, starting in
1949 with Columbia Records. In the 1960s, Vaughan made
records with bandleaders such as Count Basie. Benny
Carter, Frank Foster, and Quincy Jones on the Mercury and
Roulette labels among others. It was during this time that
her level of international recognition began to grow as she
toured widely, generally accompanied by a trio, and on
occasion doing orchestra dates.
These large ensemble dates
ranged from the Boston Pops to
the Cleveland Orchestra as her
voice became recognized as
#
^DISCOO,
1944-46, Classics. 1944-46
In Hi-Fi, Columbia/Legacy, 1949-53
The Complete Sarah Vaughan
on Mercury, Vol /, Mercury, 1954-56
Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown,
Verve, 1955
The Duke Ellington Songbook,
Vol. 7, Pablo, 1979
one of the most beautiful
and versatile in all of jazz,
blessed with a range that
literally went from bari-
tone to soprano. In the
1970s and 1980s, her voice
darkened, providing a
deeper and all the more
alluring tone.
NEA Jazz Masters 89
em
PRODUCER PIANIST
Born October 3, 1925 in Boston, MA
^PBISCOC^
Jazz impresario George Wein is renowned for his work in
organizing and booking music festivals, and in particular
for creating the Newport Jazz Festival,
event that in the words of the late jazz
critic Leonard Feather started the
"festival era."
A professional pianist from his
early teens, George Wein went on
to lead his own band in and
around his native Boston, fre-
quently accompanying visiting
jazz musicians.
In 1950, he opened his own
club in Boston, formed the
Storyville record label, and launched
his career as a jazz entrepreneur. In
1954, he was invited to organize the first
&
Wein, Women & Song, Atlantic, 1955
George Wein & the Newport All-Stars,
Impulse!, 1962
George Wein's Newport All-Stars,
Atlantic, 1969
European Tour, Concord Jazz, 1 987
Swing That Music, Columbia, 1993
Newport Jazz Festival. He subsequently played an important
role in establishing numerous other international festivals,
including the annual Grande Parade du Jazz in Nice, located
in the south of France. In 1969. George Wein established
Festival Productions. Inc., which has offices in six
cities and produces hundreds of musical events
internationally, each year.
Still active in producing his festivals at age
80, George Wein serves on the executive board
of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and is an Honorary
Trustee of Carnegie Hall. In addition to carrying
on this work, he is an author, whose autobiog-
raphy Myself Among Others was recognized by
the Jazz Journalists Association as 2004 's best
book about jazz, and continues to perform as a
pianist with his group, the Newport All-Stars.
90 NEA Jazz Masters
.
-<^^i
.
s.
L 1
P
** -2
^
,
1 Randy
PIANIST COMPOSER
eston
Born April 6, 1926 in Brooklyn, NY
Randy Weston has spent most of his career com
bining the rich music of the African conti-
nent with the African American tradition
of jazz, mixing rhythms and melodies into a
hybrid musical stew.
Weston received his earliest training from
private teachers in a household that nurtured
his budding musicianship. Growing up in
Brooklyn, Weston was influenced by such
peers as saxophonist Cecil Payne and trum-
peter Ray Copeland as well as the steady influx
of great jazz musicians who frequented Brooklyn
clubs and jam sessions on a regular basis. Such
musicians as Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington
would have a lasting influence on Weston's music, both in
terms of his piano playing and composition.
After a 1945 stint in the Army, Weston began playing
piano with such rhythm and blues bands as Bull Moose
Jackson and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. At the Music Inn
educational retreat in Lenox, Massachusetts in 1954, he took
work as a cook during the summer, while playing the piano
at night. The head of Riverside Records heard him and
signed Weston to do a record of Cole Porter standards.
Weston's recording sessions frequently included contri-
butions from his Brooklyn neighborhood buddies Copeland,
Payne, and bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik. It was at this early
juncture that he also began his long and fruitful musical
partnership with trombonist-arranger Melba Liston (a listing
of some of the albums on which they collaborated can be
*j
>
Uhuru Africa/Highlife,
Roulette, 1960-63
Blues to Africa, Arista/Freedom, 1974
Portraits of Monk, Verve, 1989
The Spirit of Our Ancestors,
Verve, 1991
Spirit! The Power of Music,
Sunnyside, 2000
found in the Liston Selected
Discography), a relationship that
would continue until her death in
1999, forming some of Weston's
best recordings.
Weston's interest in the
African continent was sparked at
an early age, and he lectured and
performed in Africa in the early
1960s. He toured 14 African coun-
tries with his ensemble in 1967 on a
State Department tour, eventually set-
tling in Rabat, Morocco. He later
moved to Tangier, opening the African
Rhvthms Club in 1969. It was in Morocco that
Weston first forged unique collaborations with Berber and
Gnawan musicians, infusing his jazz with African music
and rhythms.
Since returning to the U.S. in 1972, he has lived in
Brooklyn, traveling extensively overseas with bands that
generally include trombonist Benny Powell and longtime!
musical director, saxophonist Talib Kibvve (aka T.K. Blue).
In recent years, a number of Weston's U.S. concert appear-
ances have been true events, including 1998 and 1999
Brooklyn and Kennedy Center collaborations with the
Master Musicians of Gnawa, and a triumphant 1998 recre-
ation of his masterwork suite "I Ihuru Africa" in Brooklyn,
Main ol Weston's compositions, such as "Hi Fly" and
"Berkshire nines," have become jazz standards,
INTEA Jazz Masters 91
lams
VOCALIST
Born December 12, 1918 in Cordele, GA
Died March 29, 1999
#
J"oe Williams' versatile baritone voice made him one of
the signature male vocalists in jazz annals, responsible
for some of the Count Basie band's main hits in the
1950s.
Though born in Georgia, Williams was raised in that
great haven of the blues, Chicago, Illinois. His first
professional job came with clarinetist Jimmie
Noone in 1937. In the 1940s, in addition to
singing in Chicago area groups, he worked
with tire big bands of Coleman Hawkins,
Lionel Hampton, and Andy Kirk. Later
he sang with two of Cafe Society's
renowned pianists, Albert Amnions and
Pete Johnson. From 1950-53, he worked
mostly with the Red Saunders band.
What came after would be a job he would
cherish and return to frequently through-
out his career: fronting the Coimt Basie
band. Often referred to jokingly as "Count
Basic's #1 son," he stepped right into the band
upon the departure of Jimmy Rushing. Williams was
1 1 m perfect replacement in that he did not just duplicate
»>
Rushing's vocal style, but offered a new range of opportuni-
ties for Basie to use. Williams' sound was smoother, strong
on ballads and blues, while Rushing was a more aggressive
singer, best on the up-tempo numbers.
Williams' hits with the Basie band included "Alright,
Okay, You Win," "The Comeback," and what would
c -£E£> DISCogg become one of his most requested tunes, "Every
Day." Starting in the 1960s, he was a vocal
soloist, fronting trios led by such pianists
as Norman Simmons and Junior Mance.
Simmons would later become his longest
tenured musical director-pianist. He
also toured with fellow Basie alumnus
Harry "Sweets" Edison. He continued
to expand his range, becoming a supe-
rior crooner and exhibiting a real depth
of feeling on ballads.
Among his many awards and citations
were a number of jazz poll commendations
and honors. Late in life, he had a recurring
role on the Cosby Show television program as the
star's father-in-law.
Every Day — The Best
of the Verve Years, Verve, 1955-90
Count Basie, Count Basie Swings/
Joe Williams Sings, Verve, 1 955-56
Count Basie, Count on the Coast,
Vol. 7 & 2, Phontastic. 1 958
Me and the Blues, BCA, 1963
Here's to Life, Telarc, 1993
92 NEA Jazz Masters
TRUMPETER COMPOSER ARRANGER BANDLEADER
QBlMlti,
son
Born September 4, 1918 in Shelby, MS
Gerald Wilson's use of multiple harmonies is a hall-
mark of his big bands, earning him a reputation as a
leading composer and arranger. His band was one of
the greats in jazz, leaning heavily on the blues but integrat-
ing other styles. His arrangements influenced many musi-
cians that came after him, including multi-instrumentalist
Eric Dolphy, who dedicated the song "G.W." to Wilson on
his 1960 release Outward Bound.
Wilson started out on the piano, learning from his
mother, then taking formal lessons and classes in high
school in Memphis, Tennessee. The family moved to Detroit
in 1934, enabling him to study in the noted music program
at Cass Tech High School. As a professional
trumpeter, his first jobs were with the Plantation
Club Orchestra. He took Sy Oliver's place
in the Jimmie Lunceford band in 1939,
remaining in the seat until 1942, when
he moved to Los Angeles.
In California, he gained work in the
bands of Benny Carter, Les Hite, and
Phil Moore. When the Navy sent him to
its Great Lakes Naval Training Station in
Chicago, lie found work in Willie Smith's
S»
gfQD DISCOq^
1945-46, Classics, 1945-46
Love You Madly, Discovery, 1982
State Street Sweet, Mama, 1995
Theme For Monterey, Mama, 1 998
band. He put together his own band in late 1944, which
included Melba Liston, and replaced the Duke Ellington
band at the Apollo Theatre when they hit New York.
Wilson's work as a composer-arranger enabled him to
work for the Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie bands.
Wilson then accompanied Billie Holiday on her tour of
the South in 1949.
In the early 1960s, he again led his own big bands.
His series of Pacific Jazz recordings established his unique
harmonic voice, and Mexican culture — especially the bull-
fight tradition — influenced his work. His appearance at the
1963 Monterey Jazz Festival increased his popularity.
He has contributed his skill as an arranger and
composer to artists ranging from Duke Ellington,
Stan Kenton, and Ella Fitzgerald to the Los
Angeles Philharmonic to his guitarist-son
Anthony. Additionally he has been a
radio broadcaster at KBCA and a frequent
jazz educator. Among his more noted
commissions was one for the 40th
anniversary of the Monterey Jazz
Festival in 1998.
M
'',
>
New York, New Sound,
Mack Avenue, 2003
NEA Jazz Masters 93
Nancy
/
Wilson
Born February 20, 1937 in Chillicothe, OH
VOCALIST BROADCASTER
Nancy Wilson first found her voice singing
in church choirs, but found her love
of jazz in her father's record collec-
tion. It included albums by Little Jimmy
Scott, Nat "King" Cole, Billy Eckstine,
Dinah Washington, and Ruth Brown;
this generation of vocalists had a pro-
found influence on Wilson's singing
style. She began performing on the
Columbus, Ohio club circuit while still
in high school, and in 1956 she became
a member of Rusty Bryant's Carolyn
Club Band.
She also sat in with various performers,
such as Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, who sug-
gested that she come to New York. When Wilson took his
advice, her distinctive voice enchanted a representative
from Capitol Records and she was signed in 1959. In the
years that followed, Wilson recorded 37 original albums for
the label. Her first hit, "Cuess Who I Saw Today." came in
1961. One year Later, a collaborative album with Adderley
solidified her standing in the jazz community and provided
the foundation for her growing fame and career. During her
years with ( lapitol, she was second in sales only to the
Nancy Wilson and Cannonball
Adderley, Capitol, 1962
Yesterdays Love Songs — Today's Blues.
Capitol 1963
But Beautiful, Blue Note, 1969
Ramsey Lewis & Nancy Wilson,
Meant To Be. Narada, 2002
B.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal),
MCG Jazz, 2004
Beatles, surpassing Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys,
and even Nat King Cole.
Wilson also has worked in television,
where in 1968 she won an Emmy Award
for her NBC series, The Nancy Wilson
Show. She has performed on The Andy
Williams Show and The Carol Burnett
Show and has appeared in series such
as Hawaii Five-O, The Cosby Show,
Moesha, and The Parkers.
Although she often has crossed over to
pop and rhvthm-and-blues recordings, she
still is best known for her jazz performances.
In the 1980s, she returned to jazz with a series
of performances with such jazz greats as Art
Farmer, Benny Golson. and Hank Jones. And to start
the new century, Wilson teamed with pianist Ramsey
Lewis for a pair of highly regarded recordings.
She has been the recipient of numerous awards and
accolades, including honorary degrees from Berklee School
of Music and Central State University in Ohio. Wilson can
be heard on National Public Radio as the host of Jazz
Profiles, a weekly documentary series.
94 NEA Jazz Masters
PIANIST ARRANGER EDUCATOR
uson
Born November 24, 1912 in Austin, TX
Died July 31, 1986
Teddy Wilson was one of the swing era's finest pianists,
a follower of Earl Hines' distinctive "trumpet-style"
piano playing. Wilson forged his own unique
approach from Hines' influence, as well as from the styles of
Art Tatum and Fats Waller. He was a truly orchestral pianist
who engaged the complete range of his instrument,
and he did it all in a slightly restrained, wholly dignified
manner at the keyboard.
Raised in Tuskegee, Alabama, Wilson studied
piano at nearby Talladega College for a short
time. Among his first professional experi-
ences were Chicago stints in the bands of
Jimmie Noone and Louis Armstrong.
In 1933, he moved to New York to join
Benny Carter's band known as the
Chocolate Dandies, and made records with
the Willie Bryant band during 1934-35.
In 1936, he became a member of Benny
Goodman's regular trio, which included
drummer Gene Krupa, and remained until
1939, participating on a number of Goodman's
small group recordings. Wilson was the first African
American musician to work with Goodman, one of the
first to integrate a jazz band. Wilson later appeared as him-
self in the cinematic: treatment of The Benny Goodman Story.
c ^DDISCO G ^
'/.
>
1934-35, Classics, 1934-35
Benny Goodman, The Complete Small
Group Recordings, RCA, 1 935-39
Masters of Jazz, Vol 11, Storyville, 1968-
With Billie in Mind, Chiaroscuro, 1972
Runnin' Wild, Black Lion, 1973
During his time with Goodman, Wilson made some of
his first recordings as a leader. These records featured such
greats as Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Lena Home, and Ella
Fitzgerald. Wilson's arrangements with Holiday in particu-
lar constitutes some of the singer's finest work, mostly due
to Wilson's ability to find the right sound to complement
Holiday's voice and singing style.
Following his Goodman days, he led his own
big band for a short time, but most of his work
came with his own small groups, particu-
larly a sextet that played regularly at the
famous Cafe Society in New York. In
1946, he was a staff musician at CBS
Radio, and also conducted his own
music school. During the early 1950s,
he taught at the (uilliard School, one
of the first jazz musicians to do so.
Wilson's relationship with Goodman
was his most noted, and was an ongoing
factor in his work. He was part of
Goodman's storied Soviet tour in 1962. and
continued to work occasional festival gigs with
the enigmatic clarinetist.
NEA Jazz Masters 95
96 NEA Jazz Masters
1982-2006
1982
Roy Eldridge*
Dizzy Gillespie*
SunRa*
1983
Count Base*
Kenny Clarke*
Sonny Rollins
1984
Ornette Coleman
Miles Davis*
Max Roach
1985
Gil Evans*
Ella Fitzgerald*
Jo Jones*
1986
Benny Carter*
Dexter Gordon*
Teddy Wilson*
1987
Cleo Brown*
Melba Liston*
Jay McShann
1988
Art Blakey*
Lionel Hampton*
Billy Taylor
1989
Barry Harris
Hank Jones
Sarah Vaughan*
1990
George Russell
Cecil Taylor
Gerald Wilson
i i
1991
Danny Barker*
Buck Clayton*
Andy Kirk*
Clark Terry
1992
Betty Carter*
Dorothy Donegan*
Sweets Edison*
1993
Jon Hendricks
Milt Htnton*
Joe Williams*
1994
Loute Bellson
Ahmad Jamal
Carmen McRae*
1995
Ray Brown*
Roy Haynes
Horace Silver
1996
Tommy Flanagan*
Benny Golson
J.J. Johnson*
1997
Billy Higgins*
Milt Jackson*
Anita O'Day
1998
Ron Carter
James Moody
Wayne Shorter
1999
Dave Brubeck
Art Farmer*
Joe Henderson*
2000
David Baker
Donald Byrd
Marian McPartland
2001
John Lewis*
Jackie McLean
Randy Weston
2002
Frank Foster
Percy Heath*
McCoy Tyner
2003
Jimmy Heath
Elvin Jones*
Abbey Lincoln
2004
Jim Hall
Chico Hamilton
Herbie Hancock
Luther Henderson*
Nat HENroFF
Nancy Wilson
2005
Kenny Burrell
Paquito D 'Rivera
Slide Hampton
Shirley Horn*
Jimmy Smith*
Artie Shaw*
George Wein
2006
Ray Barretto
Tony Bennett
Bob Brookmeyer
Chick Corea
Buddy DkFkanco
Freddie Hubbard
foHN Lew
NEA Jazz Masters 97
Credits
This publication is published by:
National Endowment for the Arts
Office of Communications
Felicia Knight. Director
Don Ball. Publications Manager
3rd Edition: 2006
Designed by:
Fletcher Design, Washington DC
Cover Photo of NEA Jazz Masters
Dizzy Gillespie and Ornette Coleman
at the Jazz Gallery in New York City,
December 5, I960 by Bob Parent
Special Thanks:
Ray Avery (and Cynthia Sesso of CTS1MAGES), Vance Jacobs,
Dale Parent (on behalf of Bob Parent), Tom Pich, Lee Tanner, and
Michael Wilderman for the use of their photographs, A.B. Spellman
for his introduction, and Wayne Brown, Jan Stunkard, Gail Syphax,
Stuart Klawans, Willard Jenkins, and the International Association
for Jazz Education for their contributions to the text.
The following reference texts were used in researching
biographical information of the NEA Jazz Masters:
All Music Guide to Jazz
by Vladimir Bogdanov. Chris Woodstra, and Stephen Thomas
Erlewine, Backbeat Books, 2002
American Musicians II
by Whitney Balliett, Oxford University Press, 1996
Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz
by Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler,
Oxford University Press, 1999
Four Lives in the Bebop Business
by A.B. Spellman, Limelight Editions, 1994
Jazz: The Rough Guide
by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, and Brian Priestley,
Rough Guides, 1995
Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 4th Edition
by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, Penguin. 1998
Talking Jazz: An Oral History
by Ben Sidran, Da Capo Press, 1995
Voice/TTY:
(202) 682-5496
For individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
Iinli\ iduals who do not use conventional print mav contact
the Arts Endowment's Office for AccessAbility to obtain this
publication in an alternate format. Telephone: (202) 682-5532
National Endowment for the Arts
I LOO Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20506-0001
(202) 682-5400
Additional i opies oi this publication can be obtained free of charge
on the NEA Web site: www.arts.gov. Additional information about
the jazz artists noted in this publii ation can In; accessed at the
International Assoi iation For |;i/.z Education Web site: www.iaje.org.
(*) printed on m w led p
98 NEA Jazz Masters
y:T+A~r
it
*> 4 $) t>
A Great Day f
Some of the greatest jazz musicians the world has ever known-
all NEA Jazz Masters — were brought together by the National
Endowment for the Arts for a historic reunion luncheon in New
York City on January 23, 2004.
NEA Jazz Masters, left to right from back row: George Russell, Dave Brubeck;
second row: David Baker, Percy Heath, Billy Taylor; third row: Nat Hentoff,
Jim Hall, James Moody; fourth row: Jackie McLean, Chico Hamilton,
Gerald Wilson, Jimmy Heath; fifth row: Ron Carter, Anita O'Day; sixth row:
Randy Weston, Horace Silver; standing next to or in front of balustrade:
Benny Golson, Hank Jones, Frank Foster (seated), Cecil Taylor, Roy Haynes,
Clark Terry (seated) Louie Bellson, NEA Chairman Dana Gioia.
A Great Nation Deserves Great Art.
National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20506-0001
202.682.5400
www.arts.gov